• BMB Reports
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• v.42 no.9
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• pp.574-579
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• 2009

The regulatory effects of honokiol on the cellular responses of macrophages and monocytes were evaluated. Specifically, we investigated the effects of honokiol with respect to lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced cytotoxicity, LPS- or phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA)-mediated morphological changes, and relevant events (FITC-dextran-induced phagocytic uptake). Honokiol blocked the LPS-induced cytotoxicity of RAW264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, honokiol appeared to block the production of cytotoxic cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-$1{\beta}$ and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-$\alpha$, nitric oxide (NO), and reactive oxygen species (ROS). Moreover, honokiol strongly prevented the morphological changes in RAW 264.7 and U937 cells that were induced by LPS and PMA. The surface levels of marker proteins, which are up-regulated under the morphological changes of RAW264.7 and U937 cells, were also diminished. The data presented here strongly suggest that the honokiol modulates various cellular responses managed by macrophages and monocytes.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.108-112
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• 1999

Recombinant murine stem cell factor (rmSCF) or recombinant murine nerve growth factor (rmNGF) induced the morphological change of large numbers of rat peritoneal mast cells (RPMC). We investigated the role of phosphatidylinositol $3^{l}-kinase$ (PI3-kinase) in receptors-mediated morphological change in RPMC. Exposure of RPMC to PI3-kinase inhibitor, wortmannin, before the addition of rmSCF and rmNGF antagonized those factors-induced morphological change. These results suggest that the PI3-kinase is involved in the signal transduction pathway responsible for morphological change following stimulation of rmSCF and rmNGF and that wortmannin blocks these responses.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.244-251
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• 1997

The effects of Artemisia princeps var orientalis(mugwort), Circium japonicum var ussuriense (Unggungqui) on cadiovascular system in hyperlipidemic rats were investgated. Thirty rats devided into 5 experimental groups, were fed with the diet contained 1% chlesterol, 0.25% sodium cholate, 10% coconut oil and 5% lard by the same method of previous paper1). Contractile and relaxation responses in the isolated artria and thoracic aortae were measured and the morphological changes of the aortic endotherium from the rats were inspected. The responses of the right atrial to isoproterenol were significantly lower value in Ungungqui powder diet group(UP) and mugwort powder diet group(MP) than the control. The contraction force by injectin of phenylephrine and calcium in isolated thoracic aortae was significantly low value in the UP and the MP groups compaired to the control. The relaxation rate by acetylcholine in isolated thoracic aortae represented significantly higher value in UP than control. The morphological changes of endothelial cell suface was smallest in UP and the damage of endothelium by retarded in MP. Although Ungungqui and mugwort extract diet groups(UE, ME) were advanced, those were less than control.

• Journal of Computing Science and Engineering
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.119-128
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• 2014

The appearance of retinal blood vessels is an important diagnostic indicator of serious disease, such as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke. Automatic segmentation of the retinal vasculature is a primary step towards automatic assessment of the retinal blood vessel features. This paper presents an automated method for the enhancement and segmentation of blood vessels in fundus images. To decrease the influence of the optic disk, and emphasize the vessels for each retinal image, a multidirectional morphological top-hat transform with rotating structuring elements is first applied to the background homogenized retinal image. Then, an improved multiscale line detector is presented to produce a vessel response image, and yield the retinal blood vessel tree for each retinal image. Since different line detectors at varying scales have different line responses in the multiscale detector, the line detectors with longer length produce more vessel responses than the ones with shorter length; the improved multiscale detector combines all the responses at different scales by setting different weights for each scale. The methodology is evaluated on two publicly available databases, DRIVE and STARE. Experimental results demonstrate an excellent performance that approximates the average accuracy of a human observer. Moreover, the method is simple, fast, and robust to noise, so it is suitable for being integrated into a computer-assisted diagnostic system for ophthalmic disorders.

• Korean Journal of Weed Science
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.73-74
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• 1982

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.24 no.12
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• pp.1583-1590
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• 2015

The aim of this study was to examine the morphological responses of Hosta longipes, an ornamental plants for heavy metal contaminated soils in urban landscaping, to heavy metals Cd, Pb, and Zn. Plants were grown in artificial soil amended with Cd, Pb, and Zn at concentation of 0, 100, 250, and 500 mg/kg. Plant height, leaf length, leaf width, total leaf number, deaf leaf number, new leaf number, chlorophyll contents, and ornamental value were monitored from May to August. At 4 months after planting, the survival and morphological responses of H. longipes grown in soil amended with Cd at concentrations ${\geq}100mg/kg$ were severely affected compared to those grown in the control soil. Relative leaf length rate and relative leaf width rate were significantly decreased when the concentration of Pb was increased. Total leaf number, chlorophyll contents, and ornamental value were the lowest value in plants grown in soil amended with Pb at level of 500 mg/kg. Relative leaf length rate and relative leaf width rate, total leaf number, dead leaf number, new leaf number, and ornamental values had a tendency of decrease when plants were grown in soils amended with Zn. However, no significant difference was found among treatments except for plants were grown in soils amended with 500 mg/kg Zn. Therefore, Hosta longipes might be useful for phytoremediation of Zn contaminated sites as herbaceous ornamental plants.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Crop Science Conference
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• 2022.04a
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• pp.81-81
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• 2022

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.211-218
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• 2015

The present study showed that silymarin, a polyphenolic flavonoid isolated from milk thistle (Silybum marianum), inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced morphological changes in the mouse RAW264.7 macrophage cell line. We also showed that silymarin inhibited the nuclear translocation and transactivation activities of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-${\kappa}B$), which is important for macrophage activation-associated changes in cell morphology and gene expression of inflammatory cytokines. BAY-11-7085, an NF-${\kappa}B$ inhibitor, abrogated LPS-induced morphological changes and NO production, similar to silymarin. Treatment of RAW264.7 cells with silymarin also inhibited LPS-stimulated activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Collectively, these experiments demonstrated that silymarin inhibited LPS-induced morphological changes in the RAW264.7 mouse macrophage cell line. Our findings indicated that the most likely mechanism underlying this biological effect involved inhibition of the MAPK pathway and NF-${\kappa}B$ activity. Inhibition of these activities by silymarin is a potentially useful strategy for the treatment of inflammation because of the critical roles played by MAPK and NF-${\kappa}B$ in mediating inflammatory responses in macrophages.

• Applied Microscopy
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.379-390
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• 1998

Dermal wound healing responses in the skin of the toad, Bombina orientalis, were examined using transmission electron microscopy. At 12 hours after wounding, debridement and collagenolysis occurred in damaged dermis. Histocyte has a large nucleus and long cytoplasm process. Phagocytic vesicle and lysosome were observed in the cytoplasm. Damaged blood cells were transformed spindle to irregular shape. Autolysis was observed in their cytoplasm. Histocytes are found in poly-band. The irregularly shaped nucleus is located peripheral region in cytoplasm. At 2 days after wounding, partial aggregation of blood cells is observed. Phagocytic, activity is observed in histocyte and collagenolytic collagen fibers are scattered. Fibroblast is observed in the dermis at 3 days after wounding. Clusters of ribosomes and some short cisternae of rough-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum are found in the cytoplasm. In histocyte at 7 days post wounding, various size granules composed of moderately dense material are found the cytoplasm. In this period histocyte is round to rod in profile, with slender processes projecting from the surface. At 7 day after injury, it was observed that formation of connective tissue fibers and amorphous ground substance in regenerating skin.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-14
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• 2016

Heat stress is an agricultural problem for Gerbera jamesonii, and it often causes poor seedling growth, reduced flower yield and undesirable ornamental characteristics of flowers. However, little is known about the effect of heat stress on the morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics of gerbera plants. Here, the responses of six cultivars of Gerbera jamesonii to heat stress were investigated. Under a 1-d heat treatment at $45^{\circ}C$, the leaves of gerbera cultivars showed yellowing, wilting, drying and death to varying degrees. The heat treatment also resulted in increased electrical conductivity, decreased soluble protein and chlorophyll contents, and the accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and proline in leaves. Moreover, heat tolerance differed among the six tested gerbera cultivars. Our results demonstrated that among the six gerbera cultivars, 'Meihongheixin' is a heat-resistant cultivar, whereas 'Beijixing' is a heat-sensitive one. 'Shijihong' and 'Linglong' are relatively heat-resistant cultivars, and 'Dadifen' and 'Taiyangfengbao' are relatively heat sensitive.