The development of drugs from natural plant sources is at growing interest due to the limitations of chemical drugs in terms of side effects and cost-effective factors of natural medicines. Among the various components contained in natural plant materials, flavonoids are of increasing interest because of their extended biological benefits. Flavonoids are classified into various types according to their structure and possess different activities depending on the structure. In this study, the flavonoids contained in Artemisia, native to Korea were examined and reviewed. HPLC chromatograms of three Artemisia species (Artemisia annua L., Artemisia iwayomogi and Artemisia argyi H.) were examined from published sources and their component analysis by MS data were summarized. The various flavonoids of Artemisia were classified into 12 types according to the main structure, and 10 flavonoids based on various activities were examined. The 10 flavonoids were identified as quercetin, kaempferol, rhamnetin, diosmetin, luteolin, methoxyflavone, catechin, apigenin, malvidin and genkwanin with extensive reported studies till date. The ten flavonoids examined have been reported to be effective in preventing and treating various diseases and exhibit activities such as anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, anti-obesity, anti-diabetic and anti-Alzheimer. The collective results from the reported studies suggest that the three types of Korean native Artemisia, contains various flavonoids with beneficial activities and may have therapeutic effects against diseases.

One of the most precise methods of tracking water movement and measuring moisture content during hydration process is the usage of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In this study, the target samples were dried “Robusta” green coffee beans, and a series of images was acquired through an MRI system during the entire hydration process. Coffee beans were immersed in a glass bottle and were placed in a 35 mm diameter RF coil throughout the whole experiment. A set of 64 images with a field of view of 26 mm×26 mm was acquired. The hydration process of intact dried green coffee beans lasted for 360 min and image data sets were acquired every 10 min with an optimal GRE pulse sequence developed. The MR images were analyzed in 2D and 3D imaging spaces. The results of 2D analysis showed that the changes in water penetration depth inside coffee beans during the hydration process could be visualized. In addition, the results of 3D analysis presented a clearer understanding of the hydration process of dried coffee beans. This study showed that changes in water distribution and physical dimensions of coffee beans during the hydration process in 2D and 3D imaging spaces were meserable, without disturbing the process, by means of the MRI technique.

목적 : 이 설문 연구는 의료민영화와 안경원의 법인화 문제에 대한 일반 소비자의 인식도를 조사하고 그 결과를 안경사 집단에 대한 선행연구와 비교·분석하는 것을 목적으로 하였다. 방법 : 2018년 5월부터 6월까지 서울·경기 지역에서 150명의 일반 소비자를 대상으로 의료민영화와 안경원의 법인화 문제에 대하여 대면설문조사를 실시하고 응답 결과를 통계분석 하였다. 결과 : 일반 소비자 집단은 의료민영화 문제에 대하여 일관되게 부정적인 인식을 나타내었으나, 안경원의 법인화 문제에 대해서는 부정적인 인식이 많지 않고 중립적인 응답의 비율이 매우 높았다. 안경사 집단에 대한 유사한 설문 조사 결과와 비교했을 때, 의료민영화에 대한 인식은 두 집단이 비슷했으나 안경원 법인화에 대한 인식은 큰 차이를 보였다. 결론 : 반 소비자 집단의 안경원 법인화 문제에 대한 부정적인 인식도가 높지 않으므로, 안경사 집단은 일반 소비자 집단을 대상으로 안경원 법인화 문제에 대한 적극적인 홍보를 강화할 필요가 있다.

We examined the adaptability of Korean winter forage crops such as Italian ryegrass, barley, oat, and triticale in Uzbekistan. The overall growth before wintering was slightly different between Uzbekistani and Korean varieties, but there was no significant difference among winter forage crops. The heading date of the Korean triticale 'Shinyoung' was the earliest, (April 4), and the heading date of the Uzbekistani triticale 'Frack cerebristy' was quite late, (April 25). The heading date of the Korean Italian ryegrass 'Kowinearly' was four days earlier than that of 'Kowinmaster,' on April 13, and that of the Korean barley ‘Youngyang’ and ‘Yuyeon’ were five days earlier than that of the Uzbekistani barley ‘Bolgaly’. The maximum dry matter yield of winter forage crop was from Uzbekistan triticale, 'Frack cerebristy', which was 13,536 kg/ha. The dry matter yield of Uzbekistan barley was 8,222 kg/ha. Compared with Uzbekistan barley, 'Bolgaly', yields of Korean barley 'Youngyang' and 'Yuyeon', Korean oat 'Samhan', and Korean Italian ryegrass 'Kowinearly' and 'Kowinmaster' were 59∼64%, 125%, and 113∼133%, respectively.

The kidney is a highly complex organ, and acute or chronic renal diseases can occur with various complications such as diabetes and hypertension. So far, no target specific treatment is available in acute or chronic renal failure, necessitating the development of alternative therapeutic strategy. Recent experimental findings suggest that the renal function and structure can be restored after being treated with various sources of stem/progenitor cells. In this review, we discuss up-to-date findings of the potential of renal progenitor/stem cells in alleviating renal injuries with a focus on preclinical studies. We also review cellular mechanisms underlying the therapeutic function of these cells.

To verify the progenitor of B. mori, we sequenced 14 B. mori strains preserved in Korea and one B. mandarina collected in Korea and conducted phylogenetic analysis of Bombycidae using maximum-likelihood method and concatenated sequences of 13 PCGs and 2 rRNA genes. All B. mori strains, regardless of their origin, formed a strong monophyletic group, with the highest nodal support. This B. mori group was placed as the sister to the two B. mandarina collected each from Korea and Shandong, China with the highest nodal support. Finally, the remaining two B. mandarina, which were collected in Japan were independently placed as the most basal lineage of B. mori and B. mandarina group. These results appear to indicate that an immediate ancestor for the domestic silkworm strains may have been originated from China and Korea.

The global biopesticide market was estimated to become about 4% of the total crop protection market in 2015, mainly due to variability of their efficacy, narrow spectrum or difficulties in long-term storage. Therefore, many people focus on overcoming these issues as a big trend. Suggested solutions include the investigation of synergy between microorganisms, the use of genetic engineering, improving the pesticide life shelf, etc. As a result, biopesticides market has grown by more than 17% over the last decade. In this context and aiming to develop new entomopathogenic fungi–based pest management tools, we constructed a fungal library by isolating insect pathogenic fungi from soil. A total of 581 isolates belonging to 35 species were isolated and characterized. Beauveria bassiana was the most abundant, representing 38.55% of the total strains, followed by Metharizium anisopliae (22.55%) and bubillosa (8.6). …% of the total isolates were highly virulent against Tenebrio molitor killing most of the treated insects in 2 to 3 days.

In this study, we developed 11 microsatellite markers specific to A. crataegi using NGS to investigate the genetic relationships of A. crataegi populations from South Korea to circumferential Asian countries (China, Russia, Mongolia, and Japan). Further, two mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) gene segments (COI and CytB) were sequenced from the samples. The population- and individual-based Principal Coordinates and STRUCTURE analyses collectively suggested that the South Korean population of A. crataegi is most differentiated from the Japanese population, whereas it was closer to Mongolian and Chinese populations. These results collectively suggest that northern populations, in particular, Mongolian populations can be considered as the most genetically compatible one as donee population, when the reintroduction program is launched. †These authors contributed equally to this paper.

Inflammation is an important protective response mechanism that occurs against microbial invasion or injury. However, excessive inflammation may lead to cause of morbidity and mortality in diseases. The activated macrophages plays a vital role in inflammatory response by stimulation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). This activation further damages the host by inducing certain pro-inflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide (NO), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin- 6 (IL-6), TNF-α, inducible nitrous oxide (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX-2). Flavonoids are bioactive compounds with potential effects as anti-cancer, anti-inflammation, anti-viral and anti-bacterial activities. Polymethoxyflavones (PMFs) are unique to citrus plants which are of specific interest owing to their biological effects that includes lipoprotein metabolism and anti-inflammatory activity. Sinensetin is one of the PMFs having five methoxy groups on the basic benzo-γ-pyrone skeleton with a carbonyl group at the C4 position. Sinensetin have been known for exerting various pharmacological activities including anti-angiogenesis, anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory activities. However, there are no studies focused on the anti-inflammatory effects of sinensetin on skeletal muscle cells. In the present study, we investigated the antiinflammatory effect of flavonoids isolated from Sinensetin on the production of pro-inflammatory mediators mediated by nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) by inhibition of signal transduction in LPS - induced L6 skeletal muscle cells.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a disorder that is manifested by a sudden decrease of renal function within several hours, and AKI remains a significant cause that can lead to increasing morbidity and mortality. Although AKI has been extensively studies in animal models, translating the results from animal studies into clinical use has not been successful due to various factors including basal etiology of kidney deficiency and comorbidities and the complexity of this pathology. As a golden parameter, measuring serum creatinine (SCr) and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) has been conventionally used for determining the renal function, however, these biomarkers has been regarded suboptimal to identify renal injuries in early stages. In this study, we attempted to screen other serum biomarkers in early AKI event using cynomolgus monkeys. Two male monkeys, aged 60 months, were subjected to ischemic injury by unilateral clamping of renal pedicles for forty five minutes and then subsequently reperfused; the unclamped kidney was regarded as non-injured controls. Compared with control kidneys, we have found that the concentration of several inflammatory proteins including MCP1, TGFα, GSTα, were higher in the renal vein of injured kidney compared with control side after 24 and 48 hours of AKI. However, changes of serum level of KIM-1, which is one of the most-widely studied marker in rodent studies, were not different after AKI. Our results provide an useful information while developing a novel marker in AKI.