Blocking of Cell Proliferation, Cytokines Production and Genes Expression Following Administration of Cordyceps Sinensis in the Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluids Cells

Kuo, Yuh-Chi,Wu, Chia-Lin,Tasi, Wei-Jern,Wang, Jir-Yenn,Chang, Shi-Chung,Lin, Ching-Yuang,Shiao, Ming-Shi 경희대학교 동서의학연구소 1999 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON EAST-WEST MEDICINE Vol.1999 No.1

Yuh-Chi Kuo¹,Chia-Lin Wn¹,Wei-jern Tasi¹,Jir-Yenn Wang²,Shi-Chung Chang₃,Ching-Yung Lin⁴,and Ming-Shi Shiao⁴¹National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, ²Department of Biology,Fu Jen University, ³Department of Chest, ⁴Department of Pediatrics, □De[art,amt of Medical Research and Education. Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan Yuh-Chi Kuo¹,Chia-Lin Wn¹,Wei-jern Tasi¹,Jir-Yenn Wang²,Shi-Chung Chang²,Ching-Yung Lin³,and Ming-Shi Shiao⁴.¹National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, ²Department of Biology,Fu Jen University, ³Department of Chest, ⁴Department of Pediatrics, □De[art,amt of Medical Research and Education. Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Blocking of Cell Proliferation, Cytokines Production and Genes Expression Following Administration of Cordyceps sinensis in the Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluids Cells. Proceedings of international Symposium on East-West Medicine, Seoul. 44-64, 1999.-Cordyceps sinensis is a major parasitic fungus on larva of Lepidoptera. It is one of the well know fungi used in traditional Chinese medicine for treatment asthma, lung and kideney diseases. Many fungi belonging to the genus Cordyceps have been demonstrated to produce natural products with various biological activities. Reported biological activities of genus cordyceps include:(a)inhibition of DNA and RNA synthesis;(b)enhancement of cell differentiation;(c)restruction of cytoskeleton;(d)inhibition of protein kinase activity;(e)antitumor activity on bladder, colon, lung carcinoma as well as fibroblastoma;(f)inhibition of the infection and revers transciptase activity of human immunodeficiency virus type 1; and(g) inhibition of methylation of nucleic acid. Thus, it is suggested that the extracts of Cordyceps sp. Contain antitumor, antiviral, and many other biological activities. In our previous studies, we proved that C. sinensis contains the antitumor and immunomodulatory agents. In the present studies, effects of C. sinensis on bronchoalveolar lavage fluids(BAL)cells were demonstrated. The crude methanolic extracts of C. sinensis were fractionated into 15 fractions by silica gel column chromatography. Effects of various fraction on BAL cells proliferation and lipopolysaccharide(LPS) stimulated interleukin-1β(IL-8),platelet activating factor(PAF), interleukin-6(IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),and interleukin-8(IL-8) production on BAL cells were determined. The result indicated that the CS-19-22 fraction suppressed BAL cells proliferation activated by LPS. The median inhibitory concentration(IC50) was 6㎍/ml. The CS-19-22 fraction also decreased IL-1β,PAF,IL-6, TNF-αand IL-8 production.The results of revers transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) demonstrated that the CS-19-22 fraction did not affect IL-1β,PAF,IL-6, TNF-α,and IL-8 mRNAs expression in BAL cells activated by LPS. By contrast, it inhibited the IL-10 mRNA expression but enhanced IFN-γand IL-12 mRNAs expression in activated BAL cells. Moreover, the CS-19-22 fraction blocked PAF-induced platelet aggregation. It is unlikely that cytotoxicity was involved. Because no cell deths were observable. We hypothesize that inhibitory mechanisms of CS-19-22 on BAL cells proliferation may be related to the impairments of gene expression and production of cytokines in BAL cells. The explanation of C. sinensis antiasthma function may involved the following(1)C.sinenesis contained immunomodulatory agents that stimulated IFN-γand IL-12 expression in TH1cells.(2)Enhanced secretion of IFN-γand IL-12 will inhibit the Tγcells immune responses Ex. Decreasing of IL-6 and IL-10 production.(3) The impairments of cytokines production in TH2 cells suppressed th BAL cells proliferation then more cytokines production Ex.IL-1β,PAF,IL-6,TNF-αand IL-8 in activated BAL cells were decreased. (4)The suppression of TH2cells immune responses will inhibit the growth and differentiation of B cells then IgE production will be decreased. (5)Reduced production of IgE will decreased asthma attack occurring in individuals. However, the results of the present study suggested that C. sinensis may also have acted to treat asthma in part by inhibiting BAL cells proliferation and cytokine gene expression and production. Future, experiments with treatment of animals with asthma with C. sinensis will be necessary to defined whether C. sinensis can reduce asthma injury. Plans are underway for the isolation of pure principal growth inhibitors and their mechanisms of action are subjected for further study.

기능성 위장관장애 환자의 자율신경계기능과 음-양(陰陽)체질 특성에 관한 연구

이정호,송지영,황의완,정두훈,김영미 大韓神經精神醫學會 1999 신경정신의학 Vol.38 No.4

연구목적 : 기질적 원인이 없이 장기간 소화장애 및 복통이 지속되는 기능성 위장관 장애 환자를 대상으로 하여, 음양체질의 특성이 위장관을 조절하는 자율신경계 기능 이상과 관련되는지를 알아보기 위하여, 사상체질 특성에 따른 자율신경계 기능의 차이유무를 측정해 보고자 하였다. 이로써 이들 환자에서 보이는 자율신경계 기능의 불균형 상태가 한의학에서 말하는 음양(陰陽)이론으로 설명할 수 있을지 알아 보고자 하였다. 그리고 만일 이러한 설명이 가능하게 되면 향후 기능성 위장관 장애 환자에 대한 음양이론에 입각한 치료의 이론적 배경이 될 것으로 기대하였다. 방 법 : 기능성 위장관 장애 환자 27명과 대조군으로서 위장관 증상 이외의 증상을 가진 신체형 장애 환자(이하 기타 신체형 장애) 28명과 건강 대조군 26명을 조사 대상으로 하였다. 이들에게 사상체질(四象體質)분류검사를 이용하여 소음 체질과 기타 체질군으로 나누고, 자율신경 기능검사를 실시하여 체질에 따른 자율신경계 기능을 비교해 보았다. 결 과 : 기능성 위장관 환자군에서 소음체질이 의미있게 많은 빈도를 차지하지는 않았으며, 기능성 위장관 장애군과 기타 신체형 장애군과의 비교에서 자율신경 기능의 차이는 없었다. 이로서 비기질성 기능 장애의 하나인 기능성 위장 장애에서 체질 특성과 부교감신경계 기능 저하와는 관련성은 거의 없다고 추정된다. 단지 기능성 위장 장애군과 기타 신체형 장애군을 합한 신체형 장애 환자군에서는 건강 대조군에 비하여 소음체질의 빈도가 높았으며 부교감신경 기능이 의미있게 낮은 소견을 보였다. 결 론 : 비기질성 기능 장애인 기능성 위장관 장애에서는 한의학에서의 음양가설이라는 일원론에 입각한 이분법적인 개념이 자율신경계의 교감, 부교감 신경계 기능과 일치하는 부분은 적은 것으로 추정된다. 기능성 위장관 장애를 대상으로 해서 앞으로는 음양의 체질이라는 포괄적인 개념보다는 확실한 증상 몇 개 중심으로 하는 좀 더 세분화된 부분으로부터 접근해 볼 필요가 있으리라 사료된다. Objectives : It was revealed that autonomic dysfunction especially decreased parasympathetic functions, seems to be one of the major etiological factors in functional gastrointestinal disorders(FGID). The physiological characteristics of sympathetic and parasympathetic functions are externally similar to the features of Yin and Yang based on oriental medicine theory. And it was also revealed that gastrointestinal symptoms are prevalent in Lesser Yin con-stitutional type(少陰) originated from four types of constitution shown in Sasang constitutional theory(四象醫學). If we obtain the findings on the similarities or compatibilities between autonomic nervous functions and physical constitutional features in functional gastrointestinal disorders, we could apply various oriental treatment modalities to the patients with functional disorders, especially according to Yin-Yang constitutional concept. Methods : We investigated the correlations between characteristics of physical constitution (Yin and Yang) and imbalance of the autonomic functions in patients with FGID. Subjects consisted with three groups : 27 patients with FGID (including irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia, functional abdominal pain syndrome according to the Rome criteria), 28 patients with somatoform disorders who had symptoms other than abdominal symptoms(other somatoform disorders), and 26 normal healthy controls. Characteristics of constitutions were evaluated and divided into two major groups, i.e., Lesser Yin constitution and other constitutions(Greater Yin & Yang and Lesser Yang included) according to the Je-Ma Lee's Classification Questionnaire for Four Constitutional Types(Song et al. 1993). For evaluating the autonomic functions, three parasympathetic functions and two sympathetic functions were measured. Levels of anxiety and depression were also evaluated to be used as a covariant controlling the autonomic functions. Results : 1) FGID group showed significantly lower parasympathetic functions compared to healthy controls, however, there was no differences between FGID and other somatoform disorder groups. 2) Lesser Yin constitutional type was not so prevalent in FGID group. 3) When FGID and other somatoform disorder groups were combined and compared with normal healthy controls, the former group showed significantly lower parasympathetic functions than the latter group. Conclusions : According to these results, Lesser Yin constitutional type do not seem to be closely related with FGID. However, it was suggested that decreased parasympathetic functions were partly associated with this group. We could not find any correlations or compatibilities between two constitutional characteristics and autonomic dysfunction in FGID. This means that functional symptoms of FGID when those were deducted as Yin and Yang characteristics based on oriental medicine could not be understood as two oppositional and co-operative functions such as autonomic functions. Further research with more restricted symptoms selected in the functional disorders and with other physiological cues applied would be needed.

A Cross-Layer Unequal Error Protection Scheme for Prioritized H.264 Video using RCPC Codes and Hierarchical QAM

Wei Ho Chung,Sunil Kumar,Seethal Paluri,Santosh Nagaraj,Annamalai Annamalai Jr,D Matyjas John 한국정보처리학회 2013 Journal of information processing systems Vol.9 No.1

TLPKA: Pairwise Key Agreement Based on the Geometrical Property of the Tangent Line in Ad Hoc Network Systems

Chung-Wei Chen,Shiuh-Jeng Wang,Yuh-Ren Tsai 보안공학연구지원센터 2008 International Journal of Hybrid Information Techno Vol.1 No.4

In this paper, we propose a new pairwise key agreement, TLPKA (Tangent Line Pairwise Key Agreement), for establishing a secure link between members in an ad hoc network. With pairwise keys, data transmitted in ad hoc networks can be protected from the eavesdropping of outsiders. These pairwise keys can also be used to authenticate members in ad hoc networks. In addition, due to the property of uniqueness of pairwise keys, it also provides non-repudiation for data transmitting. In our scheme, we propose a new idea for the design of pairwise key agreements in an ad hoc network. Our scheme is based on the geometrical property of the tangent line and the mechanisms in our scheme are inspired by the Shamir secret sharing scheme. Our schemes also provide reciprocal authentication among node communicants. The robustness of our scheme is based on the DH problem and the indefinite solutions in coordinate geometry. In addition, we compare our scheme with other schemes. Although there is a higher overhead associated with our scheme, it maintains a higher security level than the other schemes.

Effects of nitrogen and carbon doping on properties and photocatalytic activity of TiO2-In2O3 composite

Chung-Hsin Wu,Chao-Yin Kuo,Jui-Tai Wu,Pui-Kwan Andy Hong,Chih-Hao Lai,Wei-Yang Chung 한국화학공학회 2015 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.32 No.5

TiO2-In2O3 (Ti-In) was synthesized by the sol-gel method and the composite was further doped with nitrogen and carbon to create Ti-In-N and Ti-In-C, respectively. The dye C.I. Reactive Red 2 (RR2) was used a model compound to be subjected to various composites and measured for removal by photocatalytic degradation and adsorption. Ti-In-N possessed a larger mean diameter than Ti-In-C, while the latter possessed a greater anatase content and surface area than the former. After N or C doping, the spectra of corresponding Ti-In-N and Ti-In-C showed absorption edges at longer wavelengths than the parent Ti-In. Ti-N-O and Ti-O-C bonds were found in Ti-In-N and Ti-In-C composites, respectively. Ti-In-N was more effective for RR2 photodegradation than Ti-In-C, and the Ti-In-C removed more RR2 by adsorption than Ti-In-N.

Overexpression of Ornithine Decarboxylase Suppresses Thapsigargin-Induced Apoptosis

Wei-Chung Hsieh,Pei-Chen Hsu,Ya-Fan Liao,Shu-Ting Young,Zeng-Wei Wang,Chih-Li Lin,Gregory J. Tsay,Huei Lee,Hui-Chih Hung,Guang-Yaw Liu 한국분자세포생물학회 2010 Molecules and cells Vol.30 No.4

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the key enzyme of poly-amine biosynthesis, has paradoxical roles in apoptosis. Our published papers show overexpression of ODC pre-vents the apoptosis induced by many cytotoxic drugs. Thapsigargin (TG) is an inhibitor of the sarcoplasmic/en-doplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca2+ ATPase (SERCA) pumps and causes ER stress-induced apoptosis. We used ODC overexpressing cell lines to examine whether overexpres-sion of ODC inhibits TG-induced apoptosis. Our results indicated overexpression of ODC attenuated TG-induced apoptosis. Overexpression of ODC blocked procaspse-4 cleavage and phosphorylation of protein kinase-like ER-resident kinase (PERK), triggered by TG. It also attenuated the increase in CAAT/enhancer binding protein homolo-gous protein (CHOP). Cells with overexpressed ODC had greater Bcl-2 expression. Overexpression of ODC pre-served the expression of Bcl-2, inhibited the increase in Bak and stabilized mitochondrial membrane potential without the influences of TG. Cytochrome c release and downstream caspase activation were blocked. That is, overexpression of ODC inhibits the mitochondria-medi-ated apoptotic pathway, induced by TG. Finally, overex-pression of ODC maintains the protein and mRNA expres-sion of SERCA. In conclusion, overexpression of ODC suppresses TG-induced apoptosis by blocking caspase-4 activation and PERK phosphorylation, attenuating CHOP expression and inhibiting the mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway.

System Study of the Wireless Multimedia Ad-hoc Network based on IEEE 802.11g

Chung-Wei Lee,Jonathan C.L. Liu,Kun Chen,Yu-Chee Tseng,S.P. Kuo 보안공학연구지원센터 2008 International Journal of Security and Its Applicat Vol.2 No.2

The construction of a wireless multimedia ad-hoc network needs to go across the mixed environment with the indoor, the wall-penetration, and the outdoor condition. This paper presents our contribution to address the system design aspects of a multimedia-enabled network based on IEEE 802.11g ad-hoc mode. There are distinct differences between indoor and outdoor environment and penetrating the walls stressed the system limit of the 802.11g ad-hoc mode. Therefore, routing decisions should be made intelligently with the environmental respect to maximize the bandwidth support on the end-to-end paths. By investigating the experimental results of the average throughput with the 802.11g adhoc mode, we have collected the different performance characteristics among the indoor, the wall-penetration and the outdoor environment. Via the experiments and analyses, we have observed that the ad-hoc mode had the worst performance within 5 meters in indoor environments. In outdoor environments, TCP seemed to favor either short distance (e.g., 5 meters) or long distance (e.g., 25 meters). On the other hand, the best performance UDP has achieved with the distance of 10 meters. When the wall-enetration occurs, it is important that the routing nodes in the building edge areas are placed close-by within 5 meters. Given the solid evidences from the baseline experiments, we have embedded the heuristic algorithms into the routing decisions. We have thus simulated a large area of 300 meters by 300 meters with hundreds of routing nodes. After investigating over 100 (randomlygenerated) topology scenarios, the performance results indicate that our proposed scheme produces the higher-bandwidth paths for most of the cases. Even in the less-dense cases, our proposed schemes still can find the better paths with bandwidth about 30% higher than the conventional methods.

Comparisons of Production Costs of Japonica Rice Between China and Korea

( Wei Guang Pan ),( Chung Gil Chung ) 한국농촌경제연구원 2004 Journal of Rural Development Vol.27 No.2

In order to compare the comparative advantage of japonica between China and Korea, the study analyzes the production cost. After comparing the cost and its structure, it is found that the production of Japonica in China has more comparative advantage obviously. But the increasing rate is much higher than that of Korea in recent 10 years. In the long term, the gap between two countries will become smaller, while the inferior advantage of Korea can`t be changed during short-mid term. Some measures should be adopted to develop the competitiveness of japonica in Korea, such as, adjusting agricultural structure, enlarging the land scale and making quality differentiation.

Common Mode Voltage Reduction in Four-Leg Inverter with Multicarrier PWM Scheme

Chung-Chuan Hou,Po-Wei Wang,Ching-Chen Chen,Chen-Wei Chang 전력전자학회 2019 ICPE(ISPE)논문집 Vol.2019 No.5

Three-phase three-leg inverter has an inherent common mode voltage (CMV) problem. Therefore, threephase four-leg inverter is presented to mitigate the CMV of the inverter. This study discusses the characteristics of multicarrier pulse width modulation (PWM) for threephase four-leg inverter. The multicarrier PWM scheme is utilized to reduce the CMV of the inverter. The analysis of sinusoidal PWM and space vector PWM with multicarrier is discussed. The experimental results are utilized to validate the performances of the proposed multicarrier PWM scheme.

Can Elderly Patients with Severe Mitral Regurgitation Benefit from Trans-catheter Mitral Valve Repair?

Ching-Wei Lee,Shih-Hsien Sung,Wei-Ming Huang,Yi-Lin Tsai,Hsiang-Yao Chen,Chiao-Po Hsu,Chun-Che Shih,Kuo-Piao Chung 대한심장학회 2019 Korean Circulation Journal Vol.49 No.6

Background and ObjectivesAge is a traditional risk factor for open-heart surgery. The efficacy and safety of transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair, using MitraClip (Abbott Vascular), has been demonstrated in patients with severe mitral regurgitation (MR). Since octogenarians or older patients are usually deferred to receive open-heart surgery, the main interest of this study is to elucidate the procedural safety and long-term clinical impact of MitraClip in elderly patients. MethodsPatients with symptomatic severe MR were evaluated by the heart team. For those with high or prohibitive surgical risks, transcatheter mitral valve repair was performed in hybrid operation room. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), blood tests, and six-minute walk test (6MWT) were performed before, 1-month, 6-months, and 1 year after index procedure. ResultsA total of 46 consecutive patients receiving MitraClip procedure were enrolled. Nineteen patients (84.2±4.0 years) were over 80-year-old and 27 (73.4±11.1 years) were younger than 80. Compare to baseline, the significant reduction in MR severity was achieved after the procedure and sustained. All the patients benefited from significant improvement in New York Heart Association functional class. The 6-minute walk test (6MWT) increased from 259±114 to 319±92 meters (p=0.03) at 1 year. The overall 1-year survival rate was 80% in the elderly and 88% in those <80 years, p=0.590. Baseline 6MWT was a predictor for all-cause mortality (odds ratio, 0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.982–0.999; p=0.026) after the MitraClip procedure. ConclusionsTrans-catheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repairs are safe and have positive clinical impact in subjects with severe MR, even in advanced age.