• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.47-52
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• 2008

The far-infrared ray (FIR) has been applied to various fields such as medical therapy, kitchen utensils, bath supplies, and so on. The FIR-emitting agent was used to make functional paperboards to have freshness-maintaining ability. The FIR-emitting agent was diluted with different concentrations at 0.5% starch solution, and the FIR-emitting solutions were coated on paperboards, i.e., liner. The more the concentration of the FIR radiating agent increased at 0.5% cationic starch solution, the higher FIR emissivity and emission power of paperboards increased. The corrugated boxes made of paperboards coated by the FIR-radiating agents at over 5% dilution concentration endowed mandarin oranges in the boxes with greater antimicrobial activity than those in boxes made of paperboards coated by the agent at below 5% concentration. In addition, it was ascertained that treatment of the FIR agents rarely affected strength properties of paperboards.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2023.04a
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• pp.47-47
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• 2023

Paeonia lactiflora roots (PLR) are a medicinal plant widely used for treating inflammatory diseases. However, PLR has been recently reported to increase the production of proinflammatory mediators and activates phagocytosis in macrophages. Thus, in this study, we tried to verify the macrophage activation of PLR and elucidate its mechanism of action. PLR upregulated the production of proinflammatory mediators and activated phagocytosis in RAW264.7 cells. However, these effects were reversed by inhibition of TLR2/4. In addition, the inhibition of p38, JNK, and ERK1/2 reduced the PLR-mediated production of proinflammatory mediators, and the PLR-mediated activation of p38, JNK, and ERK1/2 was blocked by the TLR4 inhibition. These findings indicate that PLR may activate macrophages through TLR4-dependent activation of p38, JNK, and ERK1/2. These indicate that PLR has immunostimulatory activity. Thus, it is believed that PLR can be used as a functional food agent that enhances the immune system.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.536-541
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• 2021

In this study, we investigated whether Hibiscus manihot flowers (HMF) exhibits immunostimulatory activity in RAW264.7 cells. HMF increased the production of immunostimulatory factors such as NO, iNOS, IL-1β and TNF-α in RAW264.7 cells. TLR2 and TLR4 blocked HMF-mediated production of immunostimulatory factors in RAW264.7 cells. In addition, the inhibition of MAPK signaling pathway reduced HMF-mediated production of immunostimulatory factors. From these results, HMF is thought to promote the production of immunostimulatory factors through activating TLR2/4/MAPK signaling in macrophages. It is believed that HMF can be developed as an agent related to immune enhancement in the future.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.9
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• pp.67-75
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• 1974

The vegetation activity of the Korean peninsula has been monitored temporal variations through a satellite remote sensing and the vegetation index was used to set up the vegetation data map of Korea. The AVHRR data sent by the NOAA-14 satellite was collected for 8 months between April and November, 1997 to calculate the normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI) which was combined the MVC(Maximum Value Composite). Then this NDVI composite map was prepared to review the temporal variations in the vegetation activity. The NDVI has been subject to the unsupervised classification for the growing season between May and October. And the vegetation type is divided into five classes ; urban, bare soil, grass, farming land, deciduous forest and coniferous forest. The unsupervised classificaion of vegetation distribution in the Korean Peninsula shows that the urban and bare soil take 4.14% of total national area, grass 4.49%, farming land 27.54%, deciduous forest 25.61% and coniferous forest 38.22%.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2024

When situated in green landscapes, water bodies play a crucial role in positively influencing mood and mental health, yet research on the cognitive mechanisms underlying these therapeutic effects is lacking. This study is intended to examine differences in brain function among adult males exposed to forest landscapes with or without water bodies. The wooded landscapes included views of a waterfall, a valley, and a forest without water. The control group was exposed to a local urban landscape. Twelve adult males participated in a field experiment in which prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity was measured using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). In the experiment, participants engaged in low-intensity walking in three forested areas with similar vegetation and climatic conditions. Participants showed significant differences in left PFC activity depending on whether they were in the three forested landscapes or in the control landscape (P < 0.01). An analysis of variance (ANOVA) confirmed that significantly lower left PFC activity was recorded in the wooded landscape containing a water view . Notably, the lowest PFC values recorded in the landscape with a waterfall view suggest that landscapes with dynamic water flow may be associated with greater therapeutic benefits in terms of PFC activity than static landscapes. Our results underscore that water is a critical aspect of a landscape due to its therapeutic benefits and should be incorporated in the planning and design of green spaces for health promotion.

• Korean Journal of Pharmacognosy
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• v.35 no.4 s.139
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• pp.271-275
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• 2004

Distylium racemosum Sieb. Et Zucc contains some compounds inhibit -amylase activity in experimental conditions. The inhibitory test showed that 50% acetone extracts from the bark and leaves of the plant strongly inhibited salivary -amylase activity. Proanthocyanidin(PA) which has strong inhibitory activity was extracted from the leaves by chromatography on Sephadex LH-20. The inhibitory activities and the inhibition kinetics of the PA were studied against three kinds of enzymes: human salivary ${\alpha}-Amylase$ (SAA), pork pancreatin ${\alpha}-Amylase$ (PAA) and yeast ${\alpha}-Glucosidase$ (AG). Then the activities of PA against SAA, PAA and AG were compared with those of acarbose, a commercial agent. The inhibitory activities of PA were stronger than those of acarbose. Inhibition kinetics of the PA showed competitive inhibition for SAA and PAA, and non competitive inhibition for GA.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.99 no.2
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• pp.179-185
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• 2010

Organophosphate pesticides inhibit cholinesterase. It is likely that application of organophosphate pesticides affect behavior of arthropods. This study aimed to find changes in foraging behavior of ants due to application of fenitrothion, one of the widely used organophosphate pesticides. Foraging activity (FA) of ants was observed using bait cards in a pesticide sprayed pine stand and in an unsprayed stand before and after aerial application of fenitrothion in 2003 and 2004. Ant abundance and species richness of ants were also monitored using pitfall traps during the activity season in 2003 and 2004. There was not a significant decrease in abundance and species richness after the application of fenitrothion. However, FA of an ant, Paratrechina flavipes (Smith), which was abundant enough to be statistically compared, was depressed from 2 hours to 10 days after application of the pesticide. FA was fully recovered at day 14 in 2003, and was partially recovered at day 18 and fully at day 31 in 2004. FA of other ant species also decreased significantly during the FA depression period of P. flavipes. On the bait cards, workers of the species responded dully to baits during the FA depression period. Despite the decline in activity, alertness of P. flavipes to other species did not decrease even during the FA depression period.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.491-495
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• 2006

Methanol extracts of fruits of 67 plants were screened for in vivo antifungal activity against Magnaporthe grisea, Corticium sasaki, Botrytis cinerea, Phytophthora infestans, Puccinia recondita, and Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei. Among them, 13 plant extracts ($3,000\;{\mu}g/ml$) showed more than 90% disease-control efficacy against at least one of six plant diseases. Specifically, the extracts of Aleurites fordii, Angelica dahurica, Camellia japonica, Chamaecyparis pisifera, Pittosporum tobira, and Styrax japonica controlled more than 90% of the development of rice blast at $1,000{\mu}g/ml$. Extracts of both S. japonica and A. dahurica fruits at $333{\mu}g/ml$ concentration displayed strong antifungal activity against M. grisea on rice seedlings.

• Korean Journal of Plant Resources
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.271-278
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• 2020

In this study, we evaluated the anti-cancer activity and potential molecular mechanism of 70% ethanol extracts of the Berchemia floribunda (BF) which belongs to Rhamnaceae against human colorectal cancer cells. The treatment of BF decreased the cell proliferation in HCT116 cell and suppressed cellular accumulation of Cyclin D1 protein. Inhibition of proteasomal activity by MG132 attenuated BF-mediated Cyclin D1 downregulation and Cyclin D1 was decreased in the cell treated with BF. These findings indicates that BF-mediated Cyclin D1 downregulation may be result from Cyclin D1 proteasomal degradation. Additionally, BF-mediated Cyclin D1 degradation was blocked in the presence of LiCl, a GSK3β inhibitor, but not PD98059, SP600125, SB203580, Bay11-7082, LY294002 an ERK1/2 inhibitor, JNK inhibitor, p38 inhibitor, IκK inhibitor and PI3K inhibitor. Furthermore, BF phosphorylated Cyclin D1 at threonine-286 (Thr286), and LiCl-induced GSK3β inhibition reduced the BF mediated phosphorylation of Cyclin D1 at Thr286. These results suggested that BF may downregulate Cyclin D1 expression as a potential anti-cancer target through GSK3β dependent Cyclin D1 degradation. Therefore, this study provides that the extract of BF has anticancer activity against human colorectal cancer cells.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.48-55
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• 2002

The essential oils were extracted from the needles of several softwood tree species, Pinus densiflora, Pinus koraiensis, Chamaecyparis obtusa and Chamaecyparis pisifera to investigate their biological activities. The antifungal activity by hyphal growth inhibition method was determined by three wood rot fungi, one mouldous fungi, and three tree pathogenic fungi and the antibacterial activity by paper disc method and turbidiometric method by three gram positive bacteria and one gram negative bacteria, Escherichia coli, were also tested. Antifungal activity was the best in the essential oil from C. obtusa, and the following was resulted in order of P. densiflora and P. koraiensis. The essential oil from P. densiflora showed higher antifungal activity against wood rot fungi than that from P. koraiensis while the result was contrary against tree pathogenic fungi. However, the antibacterial activity was the best in the essential oil from P. densiflora, and the following was in order of C. obtusa and P. koraiensis. From these results, the variation of biological activity seemed to be due to the chemical composition of essential oils.