• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.6315-6324
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• 2015

This study analyses the effects of household finances on rental price of apartment in Seoul which play a major role in real estate policy. We estimate VAR models using time series data. Economy variables such as sales price of apartment in Seoul, consumer price index, hiring rate, real GNI and loan amount of housing mortgage, which relate to household finances and influence the rental price of apartment, are used for estimation. The main findings are as follows. In the short term, the rental price of apartment is impacted by economy variables. Specifically, Relative contributions of variation in rental price of apartment through structural shock of economy variables are most influenced by their own. However, in the long term, household variables are more influential to the rental price of apartment. These results are expected to contribute to establish housing price stabilization policies through understanding the relationship between economy variables and rental price of apartment.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.1011-1021
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• 2021

The root bark of Ulmus davidiana var. japonica (Japanese elm) is used in Korea and other East Asian countries as a traditional herbal remedy to treat a variety of inflammatory diseases and ailments such as edema, gastric cancer and mastitis. For this study, we investigated the lipid metabolism and anti-obesity efficacy of ethyl alcohol extract of Ulmus davidiana var. japonica root bark (UDE). First, HPLC was performed to quantify the level of (+)-catechin, the active ingredient of UDE. In the following experiments, cultured 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes and high-fat diet (HFD)-fed murine model were studied for anti-obesity efficacy by testing the lipid metabolism effects of UDE and (+)-catechin. In the test using 3T3-L1 pre-adipocytes, treatment with UDE inhibited adipocyte differentiation and significantly reduced the production of adipogenic genes and transcription factors PPARγ, C/EBPα and SREBP-1c. HFD-fed, obese mice were administered with UDE (200 mg/kg per day) and (+)-catechin (30 mg/kg per day) by oral gavage for 4 weeks. Weight gain, epididymal and abdominal adipose tissue mass were significantly reduced, and a change in adipocyte size was observed in the UDE and (+)-catechin treatment groups compared to the untreated control group (^***p < 0.001). Significantly lower total cholesterol and triglyceride levels were detected in UDE-treated HFD mice compared to the control, revealing the efficacy of UDE. In addition, it was found that lipid accumulation in hepatocytes was also significantly reduced after administration of UDE. These results suggest that UDE has significant anti-obesity and lipid metabolism effects through inhibition of adipocyte differentiation and adipogenesis.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.28 no.6
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• pp.135-143
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• 2013

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to determine whether the methanol extract of Cassia mimosoides var. nomame Makino, a naturally growing plant in Korea, could prevent the renal-ischemia/reperfusion injury in a rat model or not. Methods : The radical scavenging activities of the extracts, and ascorbic acid as a positive control, were measured in vitro. At one hour after an intraperitoneal injection of the extract (400 mg/kg), renal ischemia/reperfusion injury was generated by 40 min clamping of the left renal artery in rats. After renal ischemia/reperfusion and 24 hr restoration of blood circulation, the serum creatinine concentration was measured. And the extent of epithelial cell injury and apoptosis was assessed by various staining technologies. The Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and activated caspase-3 were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Results : The extract showed a slightly lower level of radical scavenging activity than that of ascorbic acid. Compared to those of the vehicle-treated group, the extract-treated group displayed a significantly smaller tubular epithelial cell injury of 54% reduction in the outer medulla region and a lower serum creatinine concentration of 50% reduction. It seems that the reduction in cellular injury is due to the attenuation of the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and the inhibition of caspase-3 activation by the extract of Cassia mimosoides. Conclusions : Cassia mimosoides var. nomame Makino could be a good candidate for a prophylactic agent against the ischemia/reperfusion/induced kidney injury.

• Proceedings of the Plant Resources Society of Korea Conference
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• 2021.04a
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• pp.60-60
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• 2021

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), especially including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is one of the common diseases with 25% of prevalence globally, but there is no thera-peutic access available. Amomum villosum var. xanthioides (Wall. ex Baker) T.L.Wu & S.J.Chen (AX), which is a medicinal herb and traditionally used for treating digestive tract disorders in Asia countries. We aimed to examine pharmacological effects of ethyl acetate fraction of AX (AXEF) against ER stress-induced NASH mice model using C57/BL6J male mice by tunicamycin (TM, 2 mg/kg) injection focusing on the oxidative stress. Mice were orally administrated AXEF (12.5, 25, or 50 mg/kg), silymarin (50 mg/kg) or distilled water daily for 5 days, and outcomes for fatty liver, inflammation, and oxidative stress were measured in serum or liver tissue levels. AXEF drastically attenuated hepatic ER stress-induced NASH which were evidenced by decreases of li-pid droplet accumulations, serum liver enzymes, hepatic inflammations, and cell death signals in the hepatic tissue or serum levels. Interestingly, AXEF showed potent antioxidant effects by quenching of reactive oxidative stress and its final product of lipid peroxide in the hepatic tissue, specifically increase of metallothionein (MT). To confirm underlying actions of AXEF, we ob-served that AXEF increase MT1gene promoter activities in the physiological levels. Collectively, AXEF showed antioxidant properties on TM-induced ER stress of NASH by enhancement of MTs.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.101 no.2
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• pp.185-194
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• 2012

The purpose of this contribution is to develop the framework of a methodology for identifying potential errors in georeferencing and in an application of it using specimens of Ox-Knee, Achyranthes bidentata Blume in Korea. At infraspecific level, uncertainty of identification showed that 41% of A. bidentata var. japonica and 28% of var. bidentata were misidentified, suggesting that the uncertainty level was independent of the reliability of experts' identification. For georeference specimen records, 71 specimens out of total 303 were selected and utilized as occurrence data: Uncertainty was 32.4 km at maximum and was 0.1297 km at minimum (mean = 4,055 m, s.d. = 5,772 m). Var. japonica is common throughout most of the southeastern Korea and west coastal areas, while var. bidentata has been found as far north as Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces. We modelled the potential distribution of two varieties using Bioclim approach in Korea based on several environmental factors. Our results indicated the most important region for var. japonica lies the west coast ranges and southern area, while for Chungcheongnam-do of potential high diversity occurs for var. bidentata. This study shows that the major factors to determine the distribution patterns of two varieties were thermal factors, rather than precipitation. The Bioclim model using geocode and georeferencing data makes the information increasingly useful and reliable. To improve data quality, it requires full management from data collection to final databases including data cleaning.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.7-13
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• 2017

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between the real exchange rate and the output, which is based on the macroeconomic equilibrium theory in China. Its aim will be to verify whether the change in the real exchange rate has a significant effect on the output or not. Research design, data, and methodology - This study endeavors tries to investigate the correlation among economic variables under the macroeconomic market (the commodity market and the money market) equilibrium. So, time-series data from 1990 to 2016 is applied to establish a vector auto-regression (VAR) model so as to perform an empirical analysis. Results - The empirical results reveal that an increase in the real exchange rate will result in an increase in the output in the short run. However, the empirical results also indicate that this kind of mechanism cannot work in the long run. Conclusions - The effect of a decrease of real exchange rate on output is significant in the short run. Also, this paper suggests that the total supply and the total demand can promote economic growth. The fiscal and money policy play a significant role in economic growth in China as well.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.25-38
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• 2017

This study investigates the causal relationship between stock prices and exchange rates for six Middle Eastern countries, namely, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Saudi Arabia before and during (after) the 2007 global financial crisis for the period between January 2004 and September 2015. The sample is divided into two sub-periods, that is, the period from January 1, 2004 to September 30, 2007 and the period from October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2015, to represent the pre-crisis period and the post-crisis period, respectively. Using Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model in a multivariate framework (including two control variables, inflation rates and oil prices) the results suggest that in the case of Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, there exists bidirectional causalities after the crisis period but not the before. The opposite status is available for the case of Iran. In the case of Oman, there is bidirectional causality between the variables of interest in both periods. The results also reveal that the relationship between stock prices and exchange rates has become stronger after the 2007 global financial crisis. Overall, the results of this study indicate that fluctuations in foreign exchange markets can significantly affect stock markets in the Middle East.

• Asian Journal of Business Environment
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.17-29
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• 2021

Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore the dynamic linkage between conditional stock market volatility and macroeconomic uncertainty of Bangladesh. Research design, data, and methodology: This study uses monthly data covering the time period from January 2005 to December 2018. A comprehensive set of macroeconomic variables, namely industrial production index (IP), consumer price index (CPI), broad money supply (M2), 91-day treasury bill rate (TB), treasury bond yield (GB), exchange rate (EX), inflow of foreign remittance (RT) and stock market index of DSEX are used for analysis. Symmetric and asymmetric univariate GARCH family of models and multivariate VAR model, along with block exogeneity and impulse response functions, are implemented on conditional volatility series to discover the possible interactions and causal relations between macroeconomic forces and stock return. Results: The analysis of the study exhibits time-varying volatility and volatility persistence in all the variables of interest. Moreover, the asymmetric effect is found significant in the stock return and most of the growth series of macroeconomic fundamentals. Results from the multivariate VAR model indicate that only short-term interest rate significantly influence the stock market volatility, while conditional stock return volatility is significant in explaining the volatility of industrial production, inflation, and treasury bill rate. Conclusion: The findings suggest an increasing interdependence between the money market and equity market as well as the macroeconomic fundamentals of Bangladesh.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture
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• v.36 no.6
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• pp.633-639
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• 2021

Raphanus sativus var. hortensis f. raphanistroides Makino (Korean wild radish [WR]) are root vegetables belonging to the Brassicaceae family. These radish species mostly grow in sea areas in Asia, where they have been traditionally used as a medicinal food to treat various diseases. To investigate the effect of WR on neuronal cell death in SH-SY5Y cells, beta-amyloid was used to develop the cell death model. WR attenuated neuronal cell death in SH-SY5Y and regulated the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling. WR extract also inhibited acetylcholinesterase inhibitor activity. Additionally, the WR treatment group ameliorated the behavior of the memory-impaired mice in a scopolamine-induced mouse model. In the behavior test, WR treated mice showed shorter escape latency and swimming distance and improved the platform-crossing number and the swimming time within the target quadrant. Furthermore, WR prevented histological loss of neurons in hippocampal CA1 regions induced by scopolamine. This study shows that WR can prevent memory impairment which may be a crucial way for the prevention and treatment of memory dysfunction and neuronal cell death.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.93-104
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• 2022

In forecasting realized volatility of the major US stock price indexes (S&P 500, Russell 2000, DJIA, Nasdaq 100), internet search volume reflecting investor's interests and implied volatility are used to improve forecast via a deep learning method of the LSTM. The LSTM method combined with search volume index produces better forecasts than existing standard methods of the vector autoregressive (VAR) and the vector error correction (VEC) models. It also beats the recently proposed vector error correction heterogeneous autoregressive (VECHAR) model which takes advantage of the cointegration relation between realized volatility and implied volatility.