• Korean Journal of Acupuncture
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.89-96
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• 2004

Objectives : In order to prove the effect of Phospholipase $A_2(PLA_2)$ Herbal-acupuncture, this experimental studies were performed by using rats that had neuronal damage due to the Middle Cerebral Artery Occulsion(MCAO). Methods : Microdialysis probes were implanted into the coordinate of striatum of anesthetized rats which consist of sham-operated 8 rats, MCAO-operated 8 rats and $PLA_2$ Herbal-acupuncture administrated 8 rats before MCAO operating. The $PLA_2$ Herbal-acupuncture(0.5mg/kg) was administrated to rats 30 minutes before having an operation causing the MCAO. The surgical excision lead the cross resected brain to the acute ischemic state. The brain was sliced in 2mm thickness and stained with cresyl violet buffer for the measurement of cerebral infarcted area and volume. Results : Based on the result of the tissue inspection for the cerebral ischemic cell, $PLA_2$ Herbal-acupuncture significantly protect neurocytes. Conclusions : We suggest $PLA_2$ Herbal-acupuncture produces protective effects against the neuronal damage induced by MCAO. Therefore, $PLA_2$ Herbal-acupuncture may prevent delayed neuronal death(DND) in selectively vulnerable focal areas of the brain effectively.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.68-78
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• 2000

Objective : This research was performed to investigate protective effects of Sophora subprostrata, against ischemic brain damage after a middle cerebral artery(MCA) occlusion. The effect was estimated using histological test, neurobehavioural test, and biochemical test. Methods : Rats(Sprague-Dawley) were divided into four groups: Sham operated group, MCA occluded group, Sophora subprostrata administrated group after MCA occlusion, and Normal group. The MCA was occluded by intraluminal method. Sophora subprostrata was administrated orally twice(l and 4 hours) after middle cerebral artery occlusion. The neurobeavioural test was performed at 3 hours, 6 hours, 9 hours and 24 hours after the surgery by posture reflex test and swimming behavioural test. All groups were sacrificed at 24 hours after the surgery. The brain tissue was stained with 2% triphenyl tetrazolium chioride(TTC) or 1 % cresyl violet solution, to examine effect of Sophora subprostrata on ischemic brain tissue. The blood samples were obtained from the heart of rats. Tumor necrosis factor-a level was measured from sera using Enzyme-Linked Immunoabsorbent Assay(ELISA). Results : The results showed that (1) Sophora subprostrata reduced infarct size and total infarct volume by 54.8% compared to the control group, (2) that neuronal death, which was shown by decrease in cell number and size, was attenuated significantly in the boundary area of the infarction, (3) that serum $TNF-{\alpha}$ㆍlevel was reduced significantly, and finally, there was significant recovery of motor deficit at 3 hours after MCA occluded by Swimming behavioural test. Conclusions :In conclusion, Sophora subprostrata has protective effects against ischemic brain damage at the early stage of ischemia.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.19-27
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• 2007

Purpose: By identifying the actual profile of emergency medical personnel's pre-admission infection control practices, this study intended to provide a basic reference material for the improvement and reorientation of pre-admission infection control measures, and thereby help establish an effective plan for pre-admission infection control activities. Methods: Total 119 EMT's working for Jeollabuk-do Provincial Fire Defense HQ were asked to join a structured questionnaire survey from June to August 2006. Results: 1. It was found that 56.1% respondents answered no guideline available on the prevention of infection. Out of our rescue brigade members who knew about relevant guideline available, 34.2% respondents answered that their department conducted quality control program for the guideline. 2. For protective outfit in emergency practice, it was found that most respondents put on gloves or nothing at all(38%), which was followed by sterile gloves(29.2%), disposable mask(26.9%), gown(4.3%) and protective goggle(1.6%). And it was noted that all respondents(100%) washed out any clothing contaminated with somatic secretion on their own. 3. For a question about any experience in emergency activities exposed to infectious diseases, it was found that most of all respondents(77.9%) answered 'No', which was followed by 'Don't Know'(18.6%) and Yes(3.9 %). 4. For a question about any experience in inquiring of patients about infectious diseases, it was found that most respondents(49.4%) answered 'Yes' and 'Sometimes'(9.1%). It was noted that 20.2% respondents had extra medical examination in medical institution in terms of whether they were exposed to infectious diseases, apart from regular medical examination. Conclusions: In order to protect 119 EMT's from infectious diseases, it will be necessary to acquire emergency medical staffs specializing in infection control and organize corresponding personnel training units to keep providing reorientation and evaluation. In addition, it will be also necessary to supply them with a full set personal protection apparatuses and other equipments required for disinfection and sterilization.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.1-8
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• 2017

Objectives Ethanol is a potent inhibitor of muscle protein synthesis. Muscle mass is regulated by the balance between rates of protein synthesis and protein breakdown. Both acute and chronic alcohol consumption inhibits synthesis to a greater extent than degradation. Protein synthesis is more intensely decreased in type II fibers than in type I fibers. Apoptosis has been shown to occur frequently in a variety of tissues in response to chronic alcohol feeding. Increased muscle fiber apoptosis has been shown in alcoholics with myopathy. Pueraria radix has been used for many disorders such as fevers, gastrointestinal disorders, muscle aches, allergies, respiratory problems, skin problems, high blood pressure, migraine headaches, lowering cholesterol and treating chronic alcoholism. We therefore tested the hypothesis that oral treatment with Pueraria radix could reduce the ethanol-induced muscle atrophy. Methods Young male Sprague-Dawley rats were orally given 25% ethanol (5 ml/kg, body weight) daily with Ethanol for 4 weeks. Normal group was similarly administrated with saline. The Rats of Pueraria radix treated group (EtOH+PR) were orally administrated Pueraria radix water extract, and rats of EtOH group were given with the vehicle only. After 4 week, the morphology of gastrocnemius and plantaris muscles were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. The immunoreactivities of pre-apoptotic BAX and anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 proteins were also measured. Results The muscles from rats of EtOH group represented a significant reduction in average cross section area compared to Normal group. EtOH+PR group had increased fiber compared to the EtOH group. Moreover, to investigate the ethanol-induced muscular apoptosis, the immunohistochemical analysis of Bax and Bcl-2 was carried out. The treatment with Pueraria radix (EtOH+PR) significantly decreased BAX expression and increased Bcl-2 expression 4 weeks after ethanol administration when compared with Normal group. Conclusions These results suggest that Pueraria radix water extract has protective effects on chronic alcohol induced myopathy.

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.379-401
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• 1999

The effect of KamiTongJonHaaATang extracts on hypercholesterolemia, platelet aggregation, pulm onary thrombosis, KCN-induced coma, forcal brain ischemia, cytotoxicity of PC12 cells induced by amyloid ${\beta}$ protein(25-35), and NO production in RAW cells stimulated lipopolysaccharide were investigated, respectively. The results were summarized as follows; 1. KTJHAT extracts showed a significant decrease of serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, phospholipid, LDL-cholesterol, and VLDL-cholesterol in hypercholesterolemia induced by 2% cholesterol diet in NZW rabbit. 2. KTJHAT extracts induced a significant inhibition of human platelet aggregation induced by thrombin and ADP but did not affect human platelet aggregation induced by collagen. 3. KTJHAT extracts showed a protective effect on pulmonary thrombosis induced by collagen and epinephrine. 4. KTJHAT extracts prolonged the duration of KCN-induced coma. 5. KTJHAT extracts showed a significant decrease of brain ischemic area and edema in MCA occlusion. Also, KTJHAT extracts showed a decrease of neurologic grade in hind limb but did not affect neurologic grade in fore limb. 6. KTJHAT extracts showed a protective effect on cytotoxicity of PC 12 cells induced by amyloid ${\beta}$ protein(25-35) in a dose dependent manner. 7. KTJHAT extracts showed a significant decrease of NO production in RAW cells induced by lipopolysaccharide. These results suggested that KTJHAT extracts might be usefully applied for prevention and treatement of thrombosis and brain damage.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.1-9
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• 2018

Objectives Disuse muscle atrophy occurs in response to pathologies such as joint immobilization, inactivity or bed rest. Muscle disuse is accompanied by an increase in apoptotic signaling, which mediates some of the responses to unloading in the muscle. GB34 (Yanglingquan) is a acupuncture point on the lower leg and one of the most frequently used points in various skeletomuscular diseases. In this study, the hypothesis that the acupuncture at GB34 could attenuate immobilization-induced skeletal muscle atrophy was tested. Methods The left hindlimb immobilization was performed with casting tape in both GB34 group (n=10) and Control group (n=10). The rats in GB34 group were daily treated with acupuncture at GB34. After 2 weeks of immobilization, the morphology of right and left gastrocnemius muscles in both GB34 and Control groups were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. To investigate the immobilization-induced muscular apoptosis, the immunohistochemical analysis of Bax and Bcl-2 was carried out. Results GB34 group represented the significant protective effects against the reductions of the left gastrocnemius muscles weight and average cross section area to compared with Control group. The acupuncture at GB34 significantly reduced the immunoreactivity of BAX and increased the immunoreactivity of Bcl-2 in gastrocnemius muscle compared with Control group. Conclusions These results suggest that the acupuncture at GB34 has protective effects against immobilization-induced muscle atrophy by regulating the activities of apoptosis-associated BAX/Bcl-2 proteins in gastrocnemius muscle.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.275-304
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• 2019

Background: Air-purifying, tight-fitting facepieces are examples of respiratory protective equipment and are worn to protect workers from potentially harmful particulate and vapors. Research shows that the presence of facial hair on users' face significantly reduces the efficacy of these devices. This article sets out to establish if an acceptable seal could be achieved between facial hair and the facepiece. The team also created and investigated a low-cost "pressure testing" method for assessing the efficacy of a seal to be used during the early design process for a facepiece designed to overcome the facial hair issue. Methods: Nine new designs for face mask seals were prototyped as flat samples. A researcher developed a test rig, and a test protocol was used to evaluate the efficacy of the new seal designs against facial hair. Six of the seal designs were also tested using a version of the conventional fit test. The results were compared with those of the researcher-developed test to look for a correlation between the two test methods. Results: None of the seals performed any better against facial hair than a typical, commercially available facepiece. The pressure testing method devised by the researchers performed well but was not as robust as the fit factor testing. Conclusion: The results show that sealing against facial hair is extremely problematic unless an excessive force is applied to the facepiece's seal area pushing it against the face. The means of pressure testing devised by the researchers could be seen as a low-cost technique to be used at the early stages of a the design process, before fit testing is viable.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.621-627
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• 2022

Background: Panax ginseng (ginseng) is a traditional medicine that is reported to have cardioprotective effects; ginsenosides are the major bioactive compounds in the ginseng root. Methods: Magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer (MMIP) nanoparticles might be useful for both the extraction of the targeted (imprinted) molecules, and for the delivery of those molecules to cells. In this work, plant growth regulators were used to enhance the adventitious rooting of ginseng root callus; imprinted polymeric particles were synthesized for the extraction of ginsenoside Rb₁ from root extracts, and then employed for subsequent particle-mediated delivery to cardiomyocytes to mitigate hypoxia/reoxygenation injury. Results: These synthesized composite nanoparticles were first characterized by their specific surface area, adsorption capacity, and magnetization, and then used for the extraction of ginsenoside Rb₁ from a crude extract of ginseng roots. The ginsenoside-loaded MMIPs were then shown to have protective effects on mitochondrial membrane potential and cellular viability for H9c2 cells treated with CoCl₂ to mimic hypoxia injury. The protective effect of the ginsenosides was assessed by staining with JC-1 dye to monitor the mitochondrial membrane potential. Conclusion: MMIPs can play a dual role in both the extraction and cellular delivery of therapeutic ginsenosides.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.123-135
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• 2022

Oryeongsan (ORS), a formula composed of five herbal medicines, has long been used to treat impairments of the regulation of body fluid homeostasis. The purpose of this study was to determine the antihypertensive and renal protective effects of ORS in rats with hypertension. Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) were divided into two groups with similar mean baseline systolic blood pressure (SBP). Then, 1 mL/kg of vehicle (distilled water) or 1.5, 3 g/kg of ORS extract were administered orally once a day for 4 weeks. SBP and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured at weeks 1, 2, 3 and 4. At the end of the experiment, blood was collected, and heart were removed for histology. By the 2 weeks after initiation of treatment, the ORS treated group had significantly lower SBP than SHR rats. The ORS treatment significantly improved blood pressure and echocardiogram parameters compared to hypertensive rats. Additionally, the left ventricular (LV) remodeling and LV dysfunction were significantly improved in ORS treated group hypertensive rats. Furthermore, an increase in fibrotic area has been observed in SHR rats compared with Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY). Furthermore, administration of ORS significantly attenuated cardiac fibrosis in hypertensive rats. Therefore, these findings suggest that ORS has a protective effect on heart failure by alleviating hypertensive heart disease and cardiovascular dysfunction in SHR.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.421-428
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• 2022

Background: The exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation is a significant risk factor generally underestimated by outdoor workers and employers. Several studies have pointed out that occupational solar exposure increased eye and skin diseases with a considerable impact on the lives and productivity of affected workers. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness against ultraviolet radiation of some measures recently undertaken for the protection of lifeguards in a coastal area of Tuscany. Methods: Different shading structures (gazebos and beach umbrella) were tested during a sunny summer's day on a sandy beach by means of two radiometers; the UV protection offered by some T-shirts used by lifeguards was also tested in the laboratory with a spectrophotometer. Results: The analysed shading structures strongly reduced the ultraviolet radiation by up to 90%, however a not always negligible diffuse radiation is also present in the shade, requiring further protective measures (T-shirt, sunglasses, sunscreen, etc.); the tested T-shirts showed a very good-excellent protection according to the Australian/New Zealand standard. Conclusion: Results obtained in this study suggest how the adoption and dissemination of good practices, including those tested, could be particularly effective as a primary prevention for lifeguards who are subjected to very high levels of radiation for long periods.