• Journal of Ginseng Research
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.190-201
• /
• 2024

Background: Deposition of immune complexes drives podocyte injury acting in the initial phase of lupus nephritis (LN), a process mediated by B cell involvement. Accordingly, targeting B cell subsets represents a potential therapeutic approach for LN. Ginsenoside compound K (CK), a bioavailable component of ginseng, possesses nephritis benefits in lupus-prone mice; however, the underlying mechanisms involving B cell subpopulations remain elusive. Methods: Female MRL/lpr mice were administered CK (40 mg/kg) intragastrically for 10 weeks, followed by measurements of anti-dsDNA antibodies, inflammatory chemokines, and metabolite profiles on renal samples. Podocyte function and ultrastructure were detected. Publicly available single-cell RNA sequencing data and flow cytometry analysis were employed to investigate B cell subpopulations. Metabolomics analysis was adopted. SIRT1 and AMPK expression were analyzed by immunoblotting and immunofluorescence assays. Results: CK reduced proteinuria and protected podocyte ultrastructure in MRL/lpr mice by suppressing circulating anti-dsDNA antibodies and mitigating systemic inflammation. It activated B cell-specific SIRT1 and AMPK with Rhamnose accumulation, hindering the conversion of renal B cells into plasma cells. This cascade facilitated the resolution of local renal inflammation. CK facilitated the clearance of deposited immune complexes, thus reinstating podocyte morphology and mobility by normalizing the expression of nephrin and SYNPO. Conclusions: Our study reveals the synergistic interplay between SIRT1 and AMPK, orchestrating the restoration of renal B cell subsets. This process effectively mitigates immune complex deposition and preserves podocyte function. Accordingly, CK emerges as a promising therapeutic agent, potentially alleviating the hyperactivity of renal B cell subsets during LN.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.38 no.1
• /
• pp.55-77
• /
• 2024

Objectives This study aimed to analyze the registration status and characteristics of clinical trials on herbal medicine (HM) and medication interventions for simple obesity in children and adolescents. Methods All interventional clinical trials registered in the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform of the World Health Organization until December 12, 2024, were collected. The study design, interventions, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and outcome measures were extracted. Results A total of 24 clinical trials (23 medications and 1 HM) were analyzed. The most common study designs were single-center, randomized controlled, parallel, and phase 2. Placebo controls were used in 87.5% of the studies, blinding was used in 79.1%, and quadruple blinding was the most common. Informed consent was obtained from 70.8% of the participants. Among the oral medications (66.6%), metformin was the most common (25%). Among the non-oral medications (29.1%), exenatide (Bydureon) was the most common intervention (42.8%). Body mass index was the most commonly reported primary outcome measure (79.1%), with most assessments performed at 6 months. Conclusions Based on the characteristics of the medication interventional clinical trial design analyzed in this study, additional high-quality multicenter traditional Korean medicine trials need to be designed in the future.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.197-204
• /
• 1987

In order to know the growth of suspended cells by explant sources, the change of nitrogen contents of cultured cells following the growth periods, capability of micro-callus formation according to cell plating methods, growth of suspended cells on various media, and efficiency of micro-callus formation by using growth regulators and different N strengths were investigated. 1. When suspension culture was tried by using the callus induced from internode and petiole, cell fresh weight and packed cell volume increased with similar way and the growth reached at stationary phase after 12 culture days. 2. N-contents of cultured cells increased upto 3 days and decreased around 6days. But the values increased again upto 9 days, after that they showed gradual decreases. 3. Of cell plating methods, embedding method was the best for micro-callus formation. 4. Growth of suspened cells showed the rest performanoes, when they were cultured on LM medium with 1/2N strengths and BAP 0.01.2.4-D 0.1, and NAA $1.0mg/{\ell}$, after 15 cultured days(upto 76.9 folds). LM medium was better than MS or GD. The combination of auxin and cytokinin was better for cell growing than auxin-treatment only. 5. Micro-callus from single cell and small cell aggregates was formed only on MS and LM media with 2,4-D $1.0mg/{\ell}$.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.85-90
• /
• 2012

Oxidation of the $Nd_2Fe_{14}B$ compound crystal and its effect on the coercivity of the fine $Nd_2Fe_{14}B$ crystal particles were investigated. Oxidation kinetics of the $Nd_2Fe_{14}B$ compound crystal was investigated using an excessively grown $Nd_2Fe_{14}B$ grains in the $Nd_{15}Fe_{77}B_8$ alloy ingot. Oxidation of the $Nd_2Fe_{14}B$ compound crystal occurred by dissociation of the phase into multi-phase mixture of ${\alpha}$-Fe, $Fe_3B$, and Nd oxides. Oxidation rate of the $Nd_2Fe_{14}B$ compound crystal showed no dependence on the crystallographic direction. The oxidation reaction was modeled according to simple linear relationship. Activation energy for the oxidation of $Nd_2Fe_{14}B$ compound crystal was calculated to be approximately 26.8 kJ/mol. Fine $Nd_2Fe_{14}B$ crystal particles in near single domain size was prepared by ball milling of the HDDR-treated $Nd_{15}Fe_{77}B_8$ alloy, and these particles were used for investigating the effect of oxidation on the coercvity. The near single domain size $Nd_2Fe_{14}B$ crystal particles (${\fallingdotseq}0.3\;{\mu}m$) had high coercivity over 9 kOe. However, the coercivity was radically reduced as the temperature increased in air (<2 kOe at $200^{\circ}C$). This radical coercivity reduction was attributed to the soft magnetic phases, ${\alpha}$-Fe and $Fe_3B$, which were formed on the surface of the fine particles due to the oxidation.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
• /
• v.10 no.2
• /
• pp.247-253
• /
• 1992

Between August 1987 and July 1991, 22 patients with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia have received allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) with non-T-lymphocyte-depleted marrow obtained from matched sibling donors. Of these patients, 12 patients were in first complete remission (CR) and 10 patients in second CR or greater or in relapse. All patients were treated with a preparative regimen consisting of cyclophosphamide (CTX, 60 mg/kg) or combined drugs, and 850 cGy single-dose or $150\~200$ cGy fractionated total body irradiation (TBI) administered twice daily for a total dose of $1200\~1320$ cGy. Survivors have been followed from 8 to 64.5 months (median, 24 months). The overall 2 year survival rate, relapse rate and incidence of radiation pneumonitis and graft versus host disease (GVHD) have been evaluated by age, phase of disease, initial WBC count, modality of TBI or conditioning chemotherapy. Overall 2 year survival was $58{\%}$. The median survival was 31 months and mean survival was 23.2 months. Overall survival have significant impact in patients of age >19 years old (p=0.008), patients in first CR (p=0.09). Two year survival rate is significantly correlated with age ( >19 vs $\leqq$19, $79.4\%$ vs $14.3\%$, p=0.0008), regimen of chemotherapy (CTX vs combined drug, $76.9\%\;vs\;33.3\%$, p=0.04), phase of disease (1st CR vs \geqq2nd$ CR or relapse, $83.3\%\;vs\;30\%$, p=0.01) and method of TBI (fractionated vs single dose, $70.7\%\;vs\;37.5\%$, p=0.05). The influence of French-American-British (FAB) subtypes on relapse rate is not significant, but initial WBC count > 20000/$mm^3$ is associated with increased relapse rate. There is difference in the rate of radiation pneumonitis ($14.3\%\;vs\;25\%$), GVHD ($14.3\%\;vs\;50\%$) and relapse ($21.4\%\;vs\;50\%$) according to fractionated versus single-dose TBI. As mentioned above, fractionated TBI is compatible for the preparative regimen combined with chemotherapy En allogeneic BMT of first CR patients under 41 years of age with suitable donor. Those results from a retrospective, non-randomized study clearly need additional clinical data, ideally from a randomized study.

• The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
• /
• v.19 no.2
• /
• pp.157-165
• /
• 2010

The age unknown Ogcheon metasedimentary rocks and the Jurassic Ogcheon granite (Jocgr) intruding it are distributed in the Ogcheon area, which is located in the central part of the Ogcheon Belt, Korea, This paper newly examines the timing of Honam shearing on the basis of the microstructural researches on time-relationship between the crenulation of Ogcheon metasedimentary rocks and the contact metamorphism by the intrusion of Jocgr. The D2 crenulation phase, which is defined by the microfolding of the S1 foliation in the metasedimentary rocks, is divided into two sub-phases. The one is a sub-phase of Early crenulation (D2a) which is included within old andalusite porphyroblasts, and the other is that of Late crenulation (D2b) which warps around the old andalusite. But they show the same dextral shear sense, the axial planes parallel to each other, and a single crenulation at outcrop scale. The contact metamorphism of andalusite-sillimanite type by the Jocgr occurred during the inter-phases of D2a and D2b, and crystallized the old andalusite masking the D2a crenulation and fibrous sillimanites replacing the D2a crenulation-forming muscovites. New andalusite porphyroblasts synkinematically grew in pressure shadows around the old andalusite or in its outermost mantles during the early stage of the D2b. The D2b occurred still continuously after the growth of the andalusite ceased (= later stage of the D2b). It indicates that the D2b occurred continuously during the period when the Ogcheon granite was still hot and cool. From this study, the crenulation history of Ogcheon metasedimentary rocks and the timing of Honam shearing would be newly established and reviewed as follows. (1) Early Honam shearing; formative period of Early crenulation, (2) main magmatic period of Jurassic granitoids; growth of the old andalusite and fibrous sillimanite by the intrusion of Jocgr, (3) main cooling period of Jurassic granitoids; formative period of Late crenulation related to Late Honam shearing, growth of the new andalusite in the early stage of D2b. Thus, this study proposes that the Honam shear movement would occur two times at least before and after the intertectonic phase which corresponds to the main magmatic period of Jurassic granitoids.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
• /
• v.17 no.4
• /
• pp.283-296
• /
• 2014

The distribution of heavy metals in the stormwater runoffs from industrial sites around Shihwa Lake that implements the total pollutant load management system (TPLMS) was studied to characterize the temporal changes of metal concentrations and to assess the ecological risk in dissolved and particulate phases of the selected metals. The dissolved Co and Ni concentration demonstrated first flush and tended to decrease with increasing of the duration of rainfall. The intensity of precipitation was found to be the main controlling factor of particulate metals in the stromwater runoffs. The particulate concentration of Pb accounted for 97.2% so the particulate phase was its main form. Other metals followed the sequence: Pb>Cu>Cd>Co>Zn>Ni. The particulate-dissolved partitioning coefficient ($K_d$) indicated that the $K_d$ of Pb were bigger than that of other metals because the metal Pb in the stormwater runoffs is quickly removed into the particulate phase. In a single day rainfall event, total runoff fluxes for total metals as the sum of dissolved and particulate forms through only two sewer outlets were 2.21 kg for Co, 30.5 kg for Ni, 278.3 kg for Cu, 398.3 kg for Zn, 0.39 kg for Cd and 40.0 kg for Pb, respectively. Given the annual rainfall, the number of rain days and the basin area for total pollutant load management system (TPLMS) of Shihwa area, enormous amount of non-point metal pollutants were entered into Lake with any treatment. The dissolved metals (e.g., Ni, Cu and Zn) in the stormwater runoffs exceeded the acute water quality criteria. Additionally, all metals were significantly enriched in the particulate phase and exceeded the PEL criteria of sediment quality guidelines (SQGs). These results indicated that the heavy metals in the stormwater runoffs may pose a very high ecological risk to the coastal environments and ecosystem.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.8 no.7
• /
• pp.621-627
• /
• 1998

The formation of Co-silicide between Co/Zr bilayer on the amorphous and crystalline Si substrates has been investigated. The films of Zr(50$\AA$) and Co(l50$\AA$) were deposited with e-beam evaporation system and were heattreated with the rapid thermal annealing system at the temperatures between 50$0^{\circ}C$ and 80$0^{\circ}C$ with 10$0^{\circ}C$ increments for 30 seconds. The phase identification of Co-silicide was carried out by XRD and the chemical analysis was examined by AES and RBS. The interface morphologies of Co/Zr bilayer films were investigated by cross sectional TEM and HRTEM. $CoSi_2$ was formed epitaxially on the crystalline Si substrate above $700^{\circ}C$ while polycrystalline $CoSi_2$ was grown on the amorphous Si substrate. The formation temperature of Co-silicide on the amorphous Si substrate was about 100 C lower than that on the crystalline Si. The COzSi phase was not identified on the both Si substrates. The formation temperature of first phase of Co-silicide on ColZr bilayer was higher than that on Co mono layer. CoSizlayer formed on the amorphous Si substrate exhibits better uniformity compared to the CoSiz formed on the crystalline substrate. The sheet resistance of CoSiz layer on crystalline Si was lower than that on the amorphous Si at high temperatures.tures.

• Korean Journal of Optics and Photonics
• /
• v.18 no.5
• /
• pp.351-361
• /
• 2007

The samples composed of a GST thin film and the protective layers of $ZnS-SiO_2$ or $Al_2O_3$ coated on c-Si substrate were prepared by using the magnetron sputtering method. Samples of three different structures were prepared, that is, i) the GST single film on c-Si substrate, ii) the GST film sandwiched by the protective $ZnS-SiO_2$ layers on c-Si substrate, and iii) the GST film sandwiched by $Al_2O_3$ protective layers on c-Si substrate. The ellipsometric constants in the temperature range from room temperature to $700^{\circ}C$ were obtained by using the in-situ ellipsometer equipped with a conventional heating chamber. The measured ellipsometric constants show strong variations versus temperature. The variation of ellipsometric constants at the temperature region higher than $300^{\circ}C$ shows different behaviors as the ambient medium is changed from in air to in vacuum or the protective layers are changed from $ZnS-SiO_2$ to $Al_2O_3$. Since the long heating time of 1-2 hours is believed to be the origin of the high temperature variation of ellipsometric constants upon the heating environment and the protective layers, a PRAM (Phase-Change Random Access Memory) recorder is introduced to reduce the heating time drastically. By using the PRAM recorder, the GST samples are heated up to $700^{\circ}C$ decomposed preventing its partial evaporation or chemical reactions with adjacent protective layers. The surface image obtained by SEM and the surface micro-roughness verified by AFM also confirmed that samples prepared by the PRAM recorder have smoother surface than the samples prepared by using the conventional heater.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
• /
• v.9 no.3
• /
• pp.124-131
• /
• 2006

For commercialization of molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC), it has some problems to be overcome such as decrease of porosity and thickness of the anode under the operating condition (at $650^{\circ}C$ and working pressure of more than 2 $kg_f/cm^2$). Recently, Ni-Al alloy anode has been proposed to replace the conventional Ni-Cr anode as an alternative material to resist a creep and inhibit the sintering. The objective of this research is to sinter the green sheet of Ni-Al alloy anode during single cell pre-treatment process, which has several advantages like cost down and simplification of manufacturing process. However, the Ni-Al alloy anode prepared with a conventional pre-treatment process showed the phase separation of Ni-Al alloy and formation of micropore(${\leqq}0.4{\mu}m$), resulting in low creep resistance and high electrolyte re-distribution. In order to prevent the Ni-Al alloy anode from phase-separating, nitrogen gas was used in the process of pre-treatment. Introducing the nitrogen, the phase separation from Ni-Al alloy into nickel and alumina was minimized and increased creep resistance. However, there was some micropore formation on the surface of Ni-Al alloy anode during the cell operation due to creation of lithium aluminate. Addition of more amount of electrolyte into a cell, especially at cathode, made the cell performance stable for 2,000 hrs. Consequently, it was possible to make the Ni-Al alloy anode with good creep resistance by the modified in-situ sintering technique.