Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) play essential roles in normal and pathophysiological function in liver. In steady state, HSCs contribute to retinoid storage, immune tolerance, and extracellular matrix (ECM) homeostasis. Upon liver injury, they become activated and lead to morphological and functional changes. Studies have demonstrated that activation of HSCs by various stimuli such as toxins, microbial infection, or metabolic overload can promote the fibrotic changes in liver by production of ECM. Herein, we provide current knowledge about the basic characteristics of HSCs and the mechanism by which they are activated.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide and currently there are many approaches developing towards cancer treatment. Cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy are often painful and have adverse effects. The mechanism of apoptosis is a complex process and it involves different pathways in its mechanism of action. Apoptosis can be caused by signals within the cell such as stress, or by extrinsic signals such as ligands binding to cell surface death receptors. The programmed cell death plays a important role in the several physiological and pathological processes. It plays important role in homeostasis. Flavonoids have gained importance as anticancer agents promoting cytotoxicity and apoptosis in cancer cells. Flavonoids are present in many medicinal plants which are a kind of ubiquitous natural products and essential active ingredients. They have strong biological activities with high efficiency and low toxicity, possessing good preventive and cure effects on different tumor forms. Flavonoids such as Scutellarein, Pectolinarigenin and Naringin have reported to possess significant anti-cancer effects on different cancer cell lines till date. In this review, we provide a summary about the anti-cancer effect of the three flavonoids and its mechanisms of action that can be used in future for understanding their potent anti-tumor properties.

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.

In this study, we developed ten microsatellite markers specific to L. angelina using the Illumina NextSeq 500 platform. Forty-three individuals of L. angelina collected from three localities in South Korea were genotyped to validate these markers and to preliminarily assess population genetic characteristics. The observed number of alleles, observed heterozygosity (HO), and expected heterozygosity (HE) at a locus ranged from 4–13, 0.211–0.950, and 0.659–0.871 in the population with the largest sample size (20 individuals), respectively, thereby validating the suitability of the markers for population analyses. Our preliminarily assessment of the population genetic characteristics indicates the presence of inbreeding in all populations, an isolation of the most geographically distant population (Seocheon), and lower HO than HE. The microsatellite markers developed in this study will be useful for studying the population genetics of L. angelina collected from additional sites in South Korea and from other regions. †These authors contributed equally to this paper.