• The Korea Journal of Herbology
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.23-29
• /
• 2011

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of aqueous extract from Scolopendrae Corpus (SC) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory response. Methods : To evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of SC, we examined the inflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide (NO) and pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-a, inteleukin (IL)-$1{\beta}$ and IL-6) on RAW 264.7 cells. We also examined molecular mechanisms such as mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and inhibitory kappa B a ($I{\kappa}$-Ba) using western blot. Furthermore, we also investigated the effect of SC on LPS-induced endotoxin shock. Results : Extract from SC itself had not any cytotoxic effect in RAW 264.7 cells. Aqueous extract from SC inhibited LPS-induced NO production and iNOS expression. SC pre-treatment also inhibited IL-$1{\beta}$, IL-6 production in RAW 264.7 cells. To investigate inhibitory effects of SC on inflammatory mediators, activation of MAPKs was examined. SC inhibited the phosphorylation of p38 kinases (p38), c-Jun $NH_2$-terminal kinase (JNK) and also the degradation of $I{\kappa}$-$B{\alpha}$ in RAW 264.7 cells stimulated with LPS. Furthermore, SC administration reduced LPS-induced endotoxin shock. Conclusion : SC down-regulated LPS-induced production of inflammatory mediators through inhibition of activation of p38, JNK and degradation of $I{\kappa}$-$B{\alpha}$. Taken together, our results suggest that SC may be a beneficial drug against inflammatory diseases such as sepsis.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.322-326
• /
• 2018

The hydrogen reduction behavior of $MoO_3-CuO$ powder mixture for the synthesis of homogeneous Mo-20 wt% Cu composite powder is investigated. The reduction behavior of ball-milled powder mixture is analyzed by XRD and temperature programmed reduction method at various heating rates in Ar-10% $H_2$ atmosphere. The XRD analysis of the heat-treated powder at $300^{\circ}C$ shows Cu, $MoO_3$, and $Cu_2MoO_5$ phases. In contrast, the powder mixture heated at $400^{\circ}C$ is composed of Cu and $MoO_2$ phases. The hydrogen reduction kinetic is evaluated by the amount of peak shift with heating rates. The activation energies for the reduction, estimated by the slope of the Kissinger plot, are measured as 112.2 kJ/mol and 65.2 kJ/mol, depending on the reduction steps from CuO to Cu and from $MoO_3$ to $MoO_2$, respectively. The measured activation energy for the reduction of $MoO_3$ is explained by the effect of pre-reduced Cu particles. The powder mixture, hydrogen-reduced at $700^{\circ}C$, shows the dispersion of nano-sized Cu agglomerates on the surface of Mo powders.

• Resources Recycling
• /
• v.24 no.6
• /
• pp.3-8
• /
• 2015

Gasification characteristics and gas produced from a sewage sludge char were analyzed by using a thermobalance reactor, which is used for a reaction kinetic analysis by measuring weight change of materials at a desired temperature. Gasification reaction rate increased with increasing temperature and steam partial pressure due to the promotion of gasification reaction. Three models of gas-solid reaction were applied to the reaction kinetics analysis and modified volumetric reaction model was an appropriated model for the steam gasification of the sewage sludge char. Apparent activation energy and pre-exponential factors were evaluated as 155.5 kJ/mol and $14,087s^{-1}atm^{-1}$, respectively. The order of reaction on steam partial pressure was 0.68. Gas analysis was performed at $900^{\circ}C$ and hydrogen concentration was highest in the gas concentrations, which increased with increasing the steam partial pressure. Hydrogen concentration increased the most and hydrogen concentration in the produced gas was 2-4 times higher than that of carbon monoxide due to the gasification and water gas shift reaction.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.660-665
• /
• 2003

Effect of freezing on the hydration rate and growth characteristics of bean sprout of two domestic cultivars of soybean, Eunha beans and Taegwang beans, was investigated. Freezing of the soybeans at $-80^{\circ}C$ affected characteristics of the hydration and growth of soybean sprout of the beans. Hydration rate of the frozen beans depended on the hydration temperature. It decreased up to 50% at lower than $60^{\circ}C$ of hydration temperature, but it did not decrease at higher than $60^{\circ}C$. Activation energies of frozen Eunha and Taegwang beans were 39.79 and 39.25 kJ/mol, respectively. Kinetic compensation effect between activation energy values and the pre-exponential factor for the hydration of soybeans with or without freezing was observed. Germination rate and thickness of the bean sprout increased by freezing, however, yield and weight were not affected by freezing.

• Journal of Powder Materials
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.410-414
• /
• 2019

The hydrogen reduction behavior of the $CuO-SCo_3O_4$ powder mixture for the synthesis of the homogeneous Cu-15at%Co composite powder has been investigated. The composite powder is prepared by ball milling the oxide powders, followed by a hydrogen reduction process. The reduction behavior of the ball-milled powder mixture is analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and temperature-programmed reduction at different heating rates in an Ar-10%H2 atmosphere. The scanning electron microscopy and XRD results reveal that the hydrogen-reduced powder mixture is composed of fine agglomerates of nanosized Cu and Co particles. The hydrogen reduction kinetics is studied by determining the degree of peak shift as a function of the heating rate. The activation energies for the reduction of the oxide powders estimated from the slopes of the Kissinger plots are 58.1 kJ/mol and 65.8 kJ/mol, depending on the reduction reaction: CuO to Cu and $SCo_3O_4$ to Co, respectively. The measured temperature and activation energy for the reduction of $SCo_3O_4$ are explained on the basis of the effect of pre-reduced Cu particles.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.413-424
• /
• 2013

Korean Red Ginseng extract (KRGE) is a traditional herbal medicine utilized to prevent endothelium dysfunction in the cardiovascular system; however, its underlying mechanism has not been clearly elucidated. We here examined the pharmacological effect and molecular mechanism of KRGE on apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in a serum-deprived apoptosis model. KRGE protected HUVECs from serum-deprived apoptosis by inhibiting mitochondrial cytochrome c release and caspase-9/-3 activation. This protective effect was significantly higher than that of American ginseng extract. KRGE treatment increased antiapoptotic Bcl-2 and Bcl-$X_L$ protein expression and Akt-dependent Bad phosphorylation. Moreover, KRGE prevented serum deprivation-induced subcellular redistribution of these proteins between the mitochondrion and the cytosol, resulting in suppression of mitochondrial cytochrome c release. In addition, KRGE increased nitric oxide (NO) production via Akt-dependent activation of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS), as well as inhibited caspase-9/-3 activities. These increases were reversed by co-treatment of cells with inhibitors of eNOS and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and pre-incubation of cell lysates in dithiothreitol, indicating KRGE induces NO-mediated caspase modification. Indeed, KRGE inhibited caspase-3 activity via S-nitrosylation. These findings suggest that KRGE prevents serum deprivation-induced HUVEC apoptosis via increased Bcl-2 and Bcl-$X_L$ protein expression, PI3K/Akt-dependent Bad phosphorylation, and eNOS/NO-mediated S-nitrosylation of caspases. The cytoprotective property of KRGE may be valuable for developing new pharmaceutical means that limit endothelial cell death induced during the pathogenesis of vascular diseases.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.508-513
• /
• 2011

Hemp is known as one of the most productive and useful plants, which grows quickly in a moderate climate with only moderate water and fertilizer. Traditionally in Korea, hemp bast is used to natural fibres, and remaining such as stem and root is treated as waste. Those of hemp by-products can be transformed to bio fuel such as bio-oil and activated carbon. To understand pyrolysis characteristics, thermogravimetric analysis were carried out in TGA, in which hemp by-products were mostly decomposed at the temperature range of $270{\sim}370^{\circ}C$. The corresponding kinetic parameters including activation energy and pre-exponential factor were determined by differential method over the degree of conversions. The values of activation energies for pyrolysis were increased as the conversion increased from 10 to 90%.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.45 no.1
• /
• pp.41-47
• /
• 2022

The purpose of this study is to apply a deep learning model that can distinguish lung perfusion and lung ventilation images in nuclear medicine, and to evaluate the image classification ability. Image data pre-processing was performed in the following order: image matrix size adjustment, min-max normalization, image center position adjustment, train/validation/test data set classification, and data augmentation. The convolutional neural network(CNN) structures of VGG-16, ResNet-18, Inception-ResNet-v2, and SE-ResNeXt-101 were used. For classification model evaluation, performance evaluation index of classification model, class activation map(CAM), and statistical image evaluation method were applied. As for the performance evaluation index of the classification model, SE-ResNeXt-101 and Inception-ResNet-v2 showed the highest performance with the same results. As a result of CAM, cardiac and right lung regions were highly activated in lung perfusion, and upper lung and neck regions were highly activated in lung ventilation. Statistical image evaluation showed a meaningful difference between SE-ResNeXt-101 and Inception-ResNet-v2. As a result of the study, the applicability of the CNN model for lung scintigraphy classification was confirmed. In the future, it is expected that it will be used as basic data for research on new artificial intelligence models and will help stable image management in clinical practice.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.43 no.4
• /
• pp.241-250
• /
• 2022

It is known that chronic pain and injury of upper limb joint tissue in manual wheelchair users is usually caused by muscle imbalance, and the propulsion speed is reported to increase this muscle imbalance. In this study, kinematic variables, electromyography, and ultrasonographic images of the upper limb were measured and analyzed at two different propulsion speeds to provide a quantitative basis for the risk of upper extremity joint injury. Eleven patients with spinal cord injury for the experimental group (G_E) and 27 healthy adults for the control group (G_C) participated in this study. Joint angles and electromyography were measured while subjects performed self-selected comfortable and fast-speed wheelchair propulsion. Ultrasound images were recorded before and after each propulsion task to measure the acromiohumeral distance (AHD). The range of motion of the shoulder (14.35 deg in G_E; 20.24 deg in G_C) and elbow (5.25 deg in G_E; 2.57 deg in G_C) joints were significantly decreased (p<0.001). Muscle activation levels of the anterior deltoid, posterior deltoid, biceps brachii, and triceps brachii increased at fast propulsion. Specifically, triceps brachii showed a significant increase in muscle activation at fast propulsion. AHD decreased at fast propulsion. Moreover, the AHD of G_E was already narrowed by about 60% compared to the G_C from the pre-tests. Increased load on wheelchair propulsion, such as fast propulsion, is considered to cause upper limb joint impingement and soft tissue injury due to overuse of the extensor muscles in a narrow joint space. It is expected that the results of this study can be a quantitative and objective basis for training and rehabilitation for manual wheelchair users to prevent joint pain and damage.

• Physical Therapy Korea
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.110-119
• /
• 2023

Background: Osteoarthritis is a common condition with an increasing prevalence and is a common cause of disability. Osteoarthritic pain decreases the quality of life, and simple gait training is used to alleviate it. Knee osteoarthritis limits joint motion in the sagittal and lateral directions. Although many recent studies have activated orthotic research to increase knee joint stabilization, no study has used patellar tendon straps to treat knee osteoarthritis. Objects: This study aimed to determine the effects of patellar tendon straps on kinematic, mechanical, and electromyographic activation in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Methods: Patients with knee osteoarthritis were selected. After creating the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), leg length difference, Q-angle, and thumb side flexion angle of the foot were measured. Kinematic, kinetic, and muscle activation data during walking before and after wearing the orthosis were viewed. Results: After wearing the patellar tendon straps, hip adduction from the terminal stance phase, knee flexion from the terminal swing phase, and ankle plantar flexion angle increased during the pre-swing and initial swing phases. The cadence of spatiotemporal parameters and velocity increased, and step time, stride time, and foot force duration decreased. Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, the increase in plantar flexion after strap wearing is inferred by an increase due to neurological mechanisms, and adduction at the hip joint is inferred by an increase in adduction due to increased velocity. The increase in cadence and velocity and the decrease in gait speed and foot pressure duration may be due to joint stabilization. It can be inferred that joint stabilization is increased by wearing knee straps. Thus, wearing a patellar tendon strap during gait in patients with knee osteoarthritis influences kinematic changes in the sagittal plane of the joint.