Objectives: This study was produced to examine the effects of moxibustion that had been played important role to traditional oriental medical treatment on disease. Recently, it was reported that moxi-tar which is generated in the process of moxibustion as burning combustibles decreased nitric oxide(NO) and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) generation in cellular experiments. Methods: Carrageenan-induced arthritis rat model was used to test the effect of moxi-tar as a chronic pain model. Diluted moxi-tar was single injected in several acupoints or combined with electroacupuncture (l ms, 2 Hz, and 2 mA) into contralateral ST36 acupoint for 30 min to assess the synergic effects. After the treatment, behavioral tests measuring stepping force were periodically conducted during the next 12 hours. Endogenous NO and iNOS, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and c-Fos protein expression in the spinal cord were examined on a rat model of carrageenan-induced arthritis. Results : After the induction of arthritis, rats subsequently showed a reduced stepping force of the affected limb for at least the next 4 days. The reduced stepping force of the limb was presumably due to a painful knee, since oral injection of indomethacin produced temporary improvement of weight bearing. Maxi-tar produced significant improvement of stepping force of the hindlimb affected by the arthritis lasting at least 9 hours. The magnitude of this improvement was equivalent to that obtained after an oral injection of 3 mg/kg of indomethacin and this improvement of stepping force was interpreted as an analgesic effect. Maxi-tar produced the improvement of stepping force of the affected hindlimb in a dose-dependent manner. Both NO production and iNOS, COX-2 protein expression increased by arthritis were suppressed by maxi-tar. Moxi-tar on combination with electroacupuncture (EA) produced more powerful and longer lasting improvement of stepping force of the hindlimb affected by the arthritis than either moxi-tar or EA did. Conclusion : The present study suggest that maxi-tar produces a potent analgesic effect on the chronic knee arthritis pain model in the rat and that moxi-tar-induced analgesia modulate endogenous NO through the suppression of iNOS/COX-2 protein expression.

This study intends to estimate the best model parameters for predicting the water quality and discharge of the study area, and provide the basic data necessary for predicting the water quality and discharge and examining changes in water quality on the basis of the changes hydraulic and hydrological changes and pollutional load of the study area. Nakdong River was selected for analysis, and the water quality survey data necessary for parameter estimation was based on the monthly water quality data (discharge, BOD, T-N and T-P) between December 1, 2002 ~ November 31, 2002. The topographical characteristics factors of the study area were based on the 1/25,000 numerical map published by the National Geographic Information Institute and satellite photographs. The presumed course: It measured the most suitable parameter that could imitate surveyed water quality and discharge using the method of trial and error, in this part the first numerical value was the model parameter presented SWAT. The result of analisys showed that a relative error between surveyed value and the result of water quality imitation about BOD, T-N, T-P that examined by this study, discharge correction : R2=0.912, discharge verification : R2=0.838, correction and verification of BOD : R2=0.847, correction and verification of T-N : R2=0.712 and, correction and verification of T-P : R2=0.726 and, BOD : RK1, RK3, T-N : RS3, RS4, T-P : RS2, RS5, GWSOLP, discharge : ALPAHA_BF, GWQMN, CH_N(2), CN2, SOL_AWC have been considered as the factors of the water quality performed in this water quality simulation, that is, the most effective parameters on BOD, T-N and T-P. It is considered that it will be possible to apply the most optimal parameter to an analysis of the water quality and discharge simulation at study area in the goal year by examining the interaction of the parameters through the parameters sampling which are able to applicable to prediction of the water quality and discharge in the future, also the analysis on the basis of the hydrological conditions: an outflow or the character of a flow will be needed.

The applied model for this study area is WINFLOW using finite element method, It is thought that the simulation result by WINFLOW model under the steady flow state reflects well the ground water distribution within the reliability level which shows the error range of 1.1% to 8.0% from the comparison between the computed values and the observed, and analyzed that the constant head distribution is shown along the east-west direction and gentle and stable head gradient along the north-south direction. Ground water of the study area shows stable movement from the south to the stream area, and the particle trace for each location shows relatively linear shape from the upstream to the pumping location while the radius of influence according to the pumping amount shows a significant difference at the down stream area from the pumping location. The simultaneous pumping from P and P1 shows more complicated appearance, not the increase of the radius of influence than pumping from a single well P or P1, and it is analyzed that the particle path takes nearly linear form. It is known that the flow direction of the ground water and the velocity of the flow affect on the magnitude of the radius of influence of the wells from the fact that the more decreasing pattern of the ground water head is observed at the side of the well and the down stream area than the upstream area when the ground water moves from south to north regarding the radius of influence according to the pumping amount. Satisfactory results in analyses of ground water movement are obtained through the significant reduction of the physical uncertainties in the flow system as well as the relatively convenient model application using WINFLOW model which is proposed in this study.