• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.496-503
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• 2018

Background: Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng) plays an anti-inflammatory role in a variety of inflammatory diseases such as gastritis, hepatitis, and colitis. However, inflammation-regulatory activity of the calyx of the P. ginseng berry has not been thoroughly evaluated. To understand whether the calyx portion of the P. ginseng berry is able to ameliorate inflammatory processes, an ethanolic extract of P. ginseng berry calyx (Pg-C-EE) was prepared, and lipopolysaccharide-activated macrophages and HEK293 cells transfected with inflammation-regulatory proteins were used to test the anti-inflammatory action of Pg-C-EE. Methods: The ginsenoside contents of Pg-C-EE were analyzed by HPLC. Suppressive activity of Pg-C-EE on NO production, inflammatory gene expression, transcriptional activation, and inflammation signaling events were examined using the Griess assay, reverse transcription-polymerization chain reaction, luciferase activity reporter gene assay, and immunoblotting analysis. Results: Pg-C-EE reduced NO production and diminished mRNA expression of inflammatory genes such as cyclooxygenase-2, inducible NO synthase, and tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ in a dose-dependent manner. This extract suppressed luciferase activity induced only by nuclear factor-${\kappa}B$. Interestingly, immunoblotting analysis results demonstrated that Pg-C-EE reduced the activities of protein kinase B (AKT)1 and AKT2. Conclusion: These results suggest that Pg-C-EE may have nuclear-factor-${\kappa}B$-targeted anti-inflammatory properties through suppression of AKT. The calyx of the P. ginseng berry is an underused part of the ginseng plant, and development of calyx-derived extracts may be useful for treatment of inflammatory diseases.

• Journal of Electrochemical Science and Technology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.102-111
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• 2010

Molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) power plants are one of most attractive electricity generation systems for the use of biogas to generate high-efficiency ultra-clean power. However, MCFCs are considerably more expensive than comparable conventional electricity generation systems. The commercialization of MCFCs has been delayed more than expected. After being effective in the Kyoto protocol and considerably increasing the fossil price, the attention focused on $CO_2$ regression and renewable energy sources has increased dramatically. In particular, the commercialization and application of MCFC systems fed with biogas have been revived because of the characteristics of $CO_2$ collection and fuel variety of MCFCs. Better economic results of MCFC systems fed with biogas are expected because biogas is a relatively inexpensive fuel compared to liquefied natural gas (LNG). However, the pretreatment cost is added when using anaerobic digester gas (ADG), one of the biogases, as a fuel of MCFC systems because it contains high $H_2S$ and other contaminants, which are harmful sources to the MCFC stack in ADG. Thus, an accurate economic analysis and comparison between MCFCs fed with biogas and LNG are very necessary before the installation of an MCFC system fed with biogas in a plant. In this paper, the economic analysis of an MCFC fed with ADG was carried out for various conditions of electricity and fuel price and compared with the case of an MCFC fed with LNG.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.191-197
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• 2006

Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) is a key enzyme involved in tumor invasiveness. The plant of Magnolia officinalis Rehd. et Wils. is often included as an ingredient in various herbal remedies recommended for cancer theraphies in Korea. Various extracts prepared from stems of M. officinalis were tested for cytotoxic activity on human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, SK-Hep cells using the XTT assay method. Then, the inhibitory effect was examined on MMP-2 activity using gelatin zymography. Methanol (MeOH) extract of M. officinalis caused the strongest inhibition of the MMP-2 activity, as measured by gelatin zymography method for enzyme activity. $IC_{50}$ values of fractions on MMP-2 activity were in a range of $4.9{\sim}11.3\;{\mu}g/mL$. Among each fraction, butanol and ethylacetate (EtOAc) fractions showed the strong inhibitory activities ($IC_{50}=10.7\;and\;4.9\;{\mu}g/mL$, respectively). When the M. officinalis's constituents such as magnolol, honokiol, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and ovovatol were examined for inhibitory effects on MMP-2 activity, EGCG showed strong inhibitory activity. However, MeOH extract of M. officinalis was dose-dependently inhibited to MMP-2 activity. The MeOH extract, hexane and EtOAc fractions $(IC_{50}\;of\;>200\;{\mu}g/mL)$ exhibited weak cytotoxicity activity, while butanol $(IC_{50}=80\;{\mu}g/mL)$ and chloroform fractions $(IC_{50}=90\;{\mu}g/mL)$ exhibited relatively strong cytotoxic activity. From these results, M. officinalis could be suitable for cancer treatment and chemopreventive drugs.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.609-615
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• 2011

A 5 kW class SOFC system for cogeneration power units was consisted of a hot box part and cold BOPs. High temperature components such as a stack, a fuel reformer, a catalytic combustor, and heat exchanges are arranged in the bot box considering their operating temperatures for the system efficiency. The hot box was made of ceramic boards for the thermal insulation. A 5 kW class SOFC stack was composed of 2 sub-modules and each module had 64 cells with $15{\times}15cm^2$ area and stainless steel interconnects. The 5 kW class SOFC system was operated with a hydrogen and a city gas. With a hydrogen, the total power of the stacks was about 7.1 kWDC and electrical efficiency was about 49.3% at 80 A. With a city gas, the total power of the stacks was about 5.7 $kW_{DC}$ and electrical efficiency was about 38.8% at 60 A. Under self-sustained operating condition, the system efficiency including a power conditioning loss and a consumed power by BOPs was about 30.2%.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.145-153
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• 2020

Background: Panax ginseng Meyer (Araliaceae) is a highly valued medicinal plant in Asian regions, especially in Korea, China, and Japan. Chemical and biological studies on P. ginseng have focused primarily on its roots, whereas the seeds remain poorly understood. This study explores the phytochemical and biological properties of compounds from P. ginseng seeds. Methods: P. ginseng seeds were extracted with methanol, and 16 compounds were isolated using various chromatographic methods. The chemical structures of the isolates were determined by spectroscopic data. Antiinflammatory activities were evaluated for triterpene and steroidal saponins using lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages and THP-1 monocyte leukemia cells. Results: Phytochemical investigation of P. ginseng seeds led to the isolation of a novel triterpene saponin, pseudoginsenoside RT₈, along with 15 known compounds. Pseudoginsenoside RT₈ exhibited more potent antiinflammatory activity than the other saponins, attenuating lipopolysaccharide-mediated induction of proinflammatory genes such as interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, and matrix metalloproteinase-9, and suppressed reactive oxygen species and nitric oxide generation in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion: These findings indicate that pseudoginsenoside RT₈ has a pharmaceutical potential as an antiinflammatory agent and that P. ginseng seeds are a good natural source for discovering novel bioactive molecules.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.699-703
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• 2006

Maize (Zea mays L.) is a monoecious plant, which separates male (tassel) and female (ear) floret that evolved into increasing heterogeneity. In each floret, male or female, bears both one pistil and three stamens primodia before diverged to unisexual state. When diverged to tassel, pistil cell death occurs in the pistil primodium, which is mediated by TASSELSEED genes. In contrast, cell protection occurs in the ear pistil from TASSELSEED-mediated cell death, which is mediated by SILKLESS1 gene. On the other hand, cell cycle arrest occurred for a long time in the ear stamens and then the stamens eventually dye. The cell cycle regulating genes such as CYCLIN B and WEE1 are involved in this process. Furthermore, the temporal and spatial regulation of gibberellin biosynthesis may cause cell cycle block in arresting stamen cells. This review describes the cell death, cell protection, and cell cycle arrest mechanism during maize sex determination process at the molecular, cellular and developmental biology, and genetic levels.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.38 no.10
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• pp.911-917
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• 2015

Citronellal, a well-known plant-derived mosquito repellent, was previously reported to repel Drosophila melanogaster via olfactory pathways involving but not directly activating Transient Receptor Potential Ankyrin 1 (TRPA1). Here, we show that citronellal is a direct agonist for Drosophila and human TRPA1s (dTRPA1 and hTRPA1) as well as Anopheles gambiae TRPA1 (agTRPA1). Citronellal-induced activity is isoform-dependent for Drosophila and Anopheles gambiae TRPA1s. The recently identified dTRPA1(A) and ag-TRPA1(A) isoforms showed citronellal-provoked currents with EC50s of $1.0{\pm}0.2$ and $0.1{\pm}0.03mM$, respectively, in Xenopus oocytes, while the sensitivities of TRPA1(B)s were much inferior to those of TRPA1(A)s. Citronellal dramatically enhanced the feeding-inhibitory effect of the TRPA1 agonist N-methylmaleimide (NMM) in Drosophila at an NMM concentration that barely repels flies. Thus, citronellal can promote feeding deterrence of fruit flies through direct action on gustatory dTRPA1, revealing the first isoform-specific function for TRPA1(A).

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.40 no.8
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• pp.577-586
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• 2017

Phytocystatins (PhyCYSs) are plant-specific proteinaceous inhibitors that are implicated in protein turnover and stress responses. Here, we characterized a PhyCYS from Arabidopsis thaliana, which was designated AtCYS5. RT-qPCR analysis showed that the expression of AtCYS5 in germinating seeds was induced by heat stress (HS) and exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) treatment. Analysis of the expression of the ${\beta}-glucuronidase$ reporter gene under the control of the AtCYS5 promoter showed that AtCYS5 expression during seed germination was induced by HS and ABA. Constitutive overexpression of AtCYS5 driven by the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter led to enhanced HS tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis, which was characterized by higher fresh weight and root length compared to wild-type (WT) and knockout (cys5) plants grown under HS conditions. The HS tolerance of AtCYS5-overexpressing transgenic plants was associated with increased insensitivity to exogenous ABA during both seed germination and post-germination compared to WT and cys5. Although no HS elements were identified in the 5'-flanking region of AtCYS5, canonical ABA-responsive elements (ABREs) were detected. AtCYS5 was upregulated in ABAtreated protoplasts transiently co-expressing this gene and genes encoding bZIP ABRE-binding factors (ABFs and AREB3). In the absence of ABA, ABF1 and ABF3 directly bound to the ABREs in the AtCYS5 promoter, which activated the transcription of this gene in the presence of ABA. These results suggest that an ABA-dependent pathway plays a positive role in the HS-responsive expression of AtCYS5 during seed germination and post-germination growth.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.40 no.8
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• pp.587-597
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• 2017

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are essential small RNA molecules that regulate the expression of target mRNAs in plants and animals. Here, we aimed to identify miRNAs and their putative targets in Hibiscus syriacus, the national flower of South Korea. We employed high-throughput sequencing of small RNAs obtained from four different tissues (i.e., leaf, root, flower, and ovary) and identified 33 conserved and 30 novel miRNA families, many of which showed differential tissuespecific expressions. In addition, we computationally predicted novel targets of miRNAs and validated some of them using 5' rapid amplification of cDNA ends analysis. One of the validated novel targets of miR477 was a terpene synthase, the primary gene involved in the formation of disease-resistant terpene metabolites such as sterols and phytoalexins. In addition, a predicted target of conserved miRNAs, miR396, is SHORT VEGETATIVE PHASE, which is involved in flower initiation and is duplicated in H. syriacus. Collectively, this study provides the first reliable draft of the H. syriacus miRNA transcriptome that should constitute a basis for understanding the biological roles of miRNAs in H. syriacus.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.41 no.7
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• pp.646-652
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• 2018

Neurodegeneration can result in memory loss in the central nervous system (CNS) and impairment of taste and smell in the peripheral nervous system (PNS). The neurodegeneration seen in Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by functional loss of dopaminergic neurons. Recent studies have also found a role for dopaminergic neurons in regulating taste memory rewards in insects. To investigate how taste memories and sugar sensitivity can be affected in PD, we utilized the $DJ-1{\beta}$ mutant fruit fly, $DJ-1{\beta}^{ex54}$, as a PD model. We performed binary choice feeding assays, electrophysiology and taste-mediated memory tests to explore the function of the $DJ-1{\beta}$ gene in terms of sugar sensitivity as well as associative taste memory. We found that PD flies exhibited an impaired ability to discriminate sucrose across a range of sugar concentrations, with normal responses at only very high concentrations of sugar. They also showed an impairment in associative taste memory. We highlight that the taste impairment and memory defect in $DJ-1{\beta}^{ex54}$ can be recovered by the expression of wild-type $DJ-1{\beta}$ gene in the dopaminergic neurons. We also emphasized the role of dopaminergic neurons in restoring taste memory function. This impaired memory property of $DJ-1{\beta}^{ex54}$ flies also allows them to be used as a model system for finding supplementary dietary foods that can improve memory function. Here we provide evidence that the associative taste memory of both control and $DJ-1{\beta}^{ex54}$ flies can be enhanced with dietary supplementation of the medicinal plant, omija.